Virtus Governing Board Grows To Include A Former Elected Member Of The Michigan Senate.

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Virtus has strengthened its Governing Board by welcoming Mr. Ian Conyers as a co-opted member.  

Ian has a long relationship with Virtus through his involvement in inclusive sport within Virtus Americas region, and his position as Board Member of Athletes Without Limits (AWL) since 2015. He also serves as a board member for the ‘Big Brother Big Sister Metro Detroit’ organisation.  

He brings significant expertise having spent his career at the intersection of community technology, policy and social change in both public and private sectors. 

As a former elected member of the Michigan Senate, Ian served in that role from 2016 to 2019, working as the Minority Vice Chair of the Transportation Committee and was a member of the Economic Development & International Investment, the Energy & Technology, and the Banking & Financial Services Committees. 

In the private sector, Ian focused on early and growth-stage companies, leading Legislative Affairs. At Bright Ventures he strives to raise awareness on the lack of banking and finance and need to shift the ecosystem to drive opportunity and equity. 

“I look forward to the opportunity to increase awareness and connectivity of the Virtus’ mission to the stakeholders around the world. There is no greater time to innovate inclusively than now, as we head towards our next national and regional events, and towards the 2023 Virtus Global Games in Vichy France,” said Mr. Conyers. 

Ian is a running and skiing enthusiast and enjoys travelling having visited over 50 countries and 47 of the United States and territories.

Poland to host 2021 World Athletics Championships

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Virtus, the international federation for athletes with intellectual impairments has announced that Poland will host the 2021 World Athletics Championship.  

The event will be hosted by the Polish Sports Association Union, SPRAWNI RAZEM, the Virtus member organisation in Poland between 7th – 14th June 2021 at Bydgoszcz–Toruń.  

This will be the second Virtus event to be run under covid-safe protocols following the successful European Indoor Athletics which took place in Nantes earlier this month. It is traditionally one of the biggest events in the Virtus calendar and is expected to be one of the final qualifying opportunities for the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

Jose Costa Pereira, Virtus Athletics Director said “Firstly I want to thank our Polish member Sprawni Razem for their extraordinary efforts to host the event amidst these difficult circumstances. Virtus athletes can be assured of a great event in the beautiful town of Bydgoszcz, and we expect a very competitive atmosphere.” 

Lenine Cunha (Portugal) is the most decorated medalist in Virtus history. ‘In Bydgoszcz, it will be the eleventh Athletics Championship since my first attendance in Tunis 2001. I will try to continue to fly high in this championship too’ said Cunha. Lenine is a bronze medalist from London 2012 Paralympic Games in Men’s Long Jump F20 and is looking forward to qualifying for Tokyo.  He recently won 3 Gold (Long jump, Triple jump and High jump), two silver (4x200m relay and Pentathlon Sh-Indoor) and one bronze (4x400m) at the 2021 Virtus Indoor Athletics Championship. 

France to host Virtus World Judo Championships

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Virtus is delighted to announce that France will host the 2021 World Judo Championships, the first judo event to be run under the Virtus banner, and building upon the recent efforts to grow judo for athletes with an intellectual impairment globally.

The event will be hosted by the Fédération Française du Sport Adapté (FFSA) and will take place on 29th and 30th October 2021 at Maison des Arts Martiaux –Toulouse Judo, Toulouse, France.  

Kerry Tansey, Virtus Sport Director for judo said “Congratulations to FFSA team on winning the bid to host the World Championships this year. I am thrilled to see our judokas coming together to participate in this championship and we are anticipating an upsurge in the number of participants from previous events.”  

“Judo being an official sport with Virtus has opened new opportunities for athletes with an intellectual impairment. We are excited to seeing the returning champions and the new contenders for the titles. I wish all the athletes’ best of luck for the competition, Stay Safe.” 

Inaugural Virtus Americas Regional Games announced for 2022

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The 2022 Virtus Americas Regional Games Will Be Held In Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Virtus would like to congratulate CBDI – Confederação Brasileira de Desportos para Deficientes Intelectuais (Brazilian Confederation of Sports for the Intellectual Disabled) as the successful National Member Organisation.

This multi-sport event will take place at the Brazilian Paralympic Training Center from 18 to 23 September 2022. We hope this first Virtus regional multi-sport event in the Americas region, will help grow our reach and provide access to more athletes in more countries. With 16 countries under the Virtus Americas Memberships, the doors are open for new nations to join our global program of elite sports for athletes with intellectual impairments. This first Regional Games will showcase the very best athlete talents representing their countries, competing for medals and achieving personal best performances.

The 2022 Virtus Americas Regional Games will set a competitive schedule across these Virtus eligibility groups:

  • II1 (athletes with an intellectual disability),
  • II2 (athletes with a significant additional impairment), and
  • II3 (a trial group for athletes with autism who are not eligible in II1).

The sports program is being finalised. The following sports are currently planned for the competition schedule – Athletics, Basketball, Futsal, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, and Swimming. There may also be demonstration events following consultation with Virtus and National Members in the coming months. The Final Sports Program is subject to change and final approvals.

Virtus President, Mr. Marc Truffaut said the 2022 Virtus Americas Regional Games now secures the third Regional Games event, joining Europe and Oceania/Asia Games on the Virtus sports program for 2022.

“Congratulations to Mr. Adilson Pereira Ramos, President of CBDI, and his team for their winning bid,” Mr. Truffaut said

“I am looking forward to seeing a celebration of sport come together in the cultural and vibrant city of Sao Paulo, Brazil.”

“Through sport, Virtus and its athletes are changing attitudes, challenging perceptions and strengthening communities locally and globally” he said.

The Brazilian Paralympic Training Center features indoor and outdoor sports facilities that are used for training and competitions at Paralympic standards. In addition, it has a residential area with accommodation for 280 people, a cafeteria, laundry and an administrative sector with rooms, auditoriums, and other spaces of support.

CBDI President, Mr. Adilson Pereira Ramos said hosting the first Virtus Americas Games in Sao Paulo, with the use of world class facilities built for Paralympic training, allows athletes to experience the same stage as Paralympians.

“This event will contribute to the nation’s goal to help massify Paralympic sport in Brazil and help in the inclusion of people with disabilities in our society”, Mr. Ramos said.

“I would like to thank our key supporters in this bid – Brazilian Paralympic Committee, Municipality of São Paulo, Government of the State of São Paulo, Ministry of Sports, Brazilian Swimming Confederation – CBDA and Liga Nacional de Futsal.”

“Our vision for this event, is to shine light athletes from every part of the Americas region, where even a young man or woman, from a small town, can become a national athlete on a world stage.”

“Sport and competition is in our DNA and my team and I will be calling on our current Regional Members and hopefully new nations to bring their best athletes to put on a great competitive multi-sport event,” he said.

More information about the event program, sport, and eligibility will be shared when available.

Virtus invites interest nations and partners to stay up to date about this event via social media and website. Governments, International Sport Federations and Partners are also invited to be part of the Inaugural 2022 Virtus Americas Games.

For more information visit www.abdem.com.br and follow @ABDEMCBDI and @virtus.sport to stay updated.

Photo of Virtus Academy Manager

New Virtus appointment will help make the invisible – visible, through research and education.

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Virtus is delighted to welcome its newest member to the team. 

Ms. Debbie van Biesen joins as the Virtus Academy Manager – a new initiative to develop a global hub of research, training and education to be launched in 2021. 

After seven years of full-time postdoctoral research at KU Leuven (Belgium), Debbie will divide her time across both organisations, leveraging on international, and evidenced-based knowledge of elite athletes with intellectual disability and autism. She has published more than 25 peer-reviewed scientific articles in top journals in her field.  

Debbie said her most important value is being able to generate impact with her work and helping to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities.  

“I am excited to join Virtus and to apply my life’s work to generate advancements in the pursuit of greater access and development of sports pathways for athletes with an intellectual impairment,” she said. 

Virtus Executive Director, Nick Parr, said the appointment of the Virtus Academy Manager is part of Virtus’ next four-year strategic plan and a demonstration of the global effort to raise awareness and grow opportunities for elite athletes with an intellectual impairment. 

“I congratulate and welcome Debbie to Virtus. Her experience as part of KU Leuven is highly valued towards raising the profile of the eligibility and classifications for athletes with an intellectual impairment.” 

Debbie specialised in the domains of ‘Adapted Physical Activity’ and ‘Disability Sport’. The focus of her research was on the role of cognition on sports performance, among elite Paralympic athletes with intellectual disabilities. 

During her PhD, she contributed to the development of evidence-based classification systems for elite athletes with intellectual disability (ID), that led to their re-inclusion in the Paralympic Games. Afterward, she was appointed as the coordinator of the “International Research and Development Centre for Classification of Athletes with Intellectual Impairments”, which was officially recognised by the International Paralympic Committee. In that position, she coordinated a collaborative network of national and international research groups and representatives of sports organisations, to perform cutting-edge research with an impact on society. 

Debbie has broad expertise as a researcher, beyond evidence-based classification. She was involved in numerous projects related to coaching para-athletes, psychosocial aspects of disabilities, health-enhancing physical activity, and performance optimisation.  

Besides research in the field of adapted physical activity, she is also passionate about teaching & coaching. She is an experienced teacher, with expertise in academic settings (Bachelor Rehabilitation Sciences, Master Physical Education and Movement Sciences, International Master Adapted Physical Activity) and non-academic settings (Flemish Trainers School, Center of Adapted Sports). 

Results of the 2019 Para-Equestrian video competition announced

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Maximilian Abing (GER) has topped the results of the 2019 Para-Equestrian video competition it was confirmed today. Riding ‘Sir Rubenstein’, the German rider collected an overall score of 67.586%, ahead of Sonia Villalba (ESP) in silver place with a score of 67.500% and Ekaterina Kirienkova (RUS) who collected bronze scoring 66.461%.

This is the 3rd annual video competition which allows riders to compete at their local club or competition.

Read the full results here.

 

 

#Brisbane2019: Final fever hits the basketball, track cycling makes debut

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One of the most hotly anticipated events of the 2019 INAS Global Games – the men’s and women’s basketball finals – delivered drama galore on the closing day in Brisbane, Australia, on Saturday (19 October).

Going into the women’s gold medal match, the general impression was that world champions Australia Gold would take the win over Japan.

However the Japanese turned the tables on the hosts in a close game.

Determined to make their mark early on, Australia Gold opened the scoring in the first 30 seconds. Japan soon replied in a gripping match where both teams matched each other point for point.

But it was Japan that found their inner beasts and scored the final point to win the game by the slimmest of margins.

Tempers flared in the bronze medal game between Australia Green and France.

In a brutally physical tie, players went flying all over the court. However Australia emerged the victors from the tense battle, wiping out France 12-7.

Australia also had interest in the men’s final, taking on Worlds silver medallists Portugal.

The players wowed the crowds with the quarter totals being 28-12, 44-24, 83-39, 94-68.

Australia did not stand a chance against the full force of a Portuguese side on the march. Star players from Portugal were Fabio Pinto Soares scoring 22 points and Ruben Xavier Couto Santos with 19.

Australia’s best male player of the match was again Jake De La Motte with 16 points.

The final score was 94-68.

World champions France regrouped from the disappointment of missing out on the final to win bronze against Poland 88-48.

Standout players were France’s Junior Ndelo Maduka with an impressive double-double consisting of 20 rebounds and 12 points scored. Team-mate Lorenzo Moonca shone in the points department scoring them 23 of their total score.

Poland’s Patryk Nowakowski scored the highest points for his country totalling 17.

Basketball reporting from Aleasha Bliss

Booth and Tufino sweep track cycling golds

An exciting morning at the Anna Meares Velodrome saw Great Britain’s Lauren Booth and Ecuador’s Eric Tufino claim all three golds in the historic Global Games debut of track cycling.

Booth kept her focus and her head down throughout her trio of events, cementing her incredible performance in the road events earlier in the week.

One win came after another in the time trial, sprint and pursuit.

Tufino also started the day hoping to add to his gold medal from the road race. He rode to his limit to step onto the top step of the podium three times.

INAS transforms into Virtus: World Intellectual Impairment Sport

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The International Federation for Athletes with Intellectual Impairments (INAS) revealed a new look, name and values on Saturday (19 October) that will take it into an exciting new era.

Virtus: World Intellectual Impairment Sport was unveiled at the closing ceremony of the 2019 Global Games in front of hundreds of athletes, coaches and dignitaries.

The new brand was presented by the organisation’s President, Marc Truffaut.

“Times are changing,” Truffaut said. “Awareness of Para sports is at an all-time high. The global movement for sport for people with intellectual impairments is becoming more professional. The standard of competition is improving all the time.

“But one thing never changes: the character, excellence, courage and integrity of the athletes we serve.”

Truffaut was referring to the characteristics which Virtus, a Latin word, embodies. These are being used as the values that motivate Virtus: World Intellectual Impairment Sport to carry out its work.

Virtus is also the name being given to the new emblem of the organisation. This combines the athlete values with the role that it carries out on a global stage.

“As one of the leading bodies for the governance, advocacy, organisation and promotion of sport and athletes with intellectual impairments, our new identity reflects our important work in helping them reach their best,” Truffaut said.

“We must own the important place we have within Para sport as well as the Paralympic Movement, as one of the founding members.

“We are proud to launch our new look and values which represents both the characteristics of the athletes and the work that we, and all our members, do in helping them to live those values.”

INAS announced it would be rebranding in 2018 to make its role and purpose clearer, as well as gain a more exciting image.

The closing ceremony of Brisbane 2019 was chosen for the launch to reflect the fact that the Global Games have become the world’s biggest high performance sports event for athletes with intellectual impairments.  Nearly 1,000 athletes from 50 countries competed in 10 sports this year.

Many will follow in the footsteps of competitors who have gone on to win medals at the Paralympic Games. For others the Global Games are the highest level they can compete at.

More information about the new brand can be found at www.virtus.sport/newbrand

#Brisbane2019: Trio of world records sees swimming end on a high

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One of the busiest days on the schedule at the 2019 Global Games wrapped up with three world records in swimming in Brisbane, Australia, on Thursday (17 October).

Trio of world records sees swimming end on a high

By Katie Hopkins

The crowd turned out for the fifth and final day of events at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre where emotions ran high and records rained down.

Australia’s Liam Schluter once again impressed in the pool, setting a new world record in the men’s 1,500m freestyle II1 in a blistering time of 14:41.40. Compatriot Joshua Alford (17:13.17), claimed silver and Hong Kong’s Hon Yin Wong (17:32.25) rounded off the podium.

In the women’s equivalent Russia’s Valeriia Shabalina (17:32.74) finished her campaign on a high by also breaking the world record. Australia’s Jade Lucy (18:55.91) finished runner up with Hong Kong’s Sui Kei Cheong (19:36.68) closing out third place.

Shabalina went on to contribute to Russia’s Global Games record victory (4:54.57) in the women’s 4x100m medley II1. Fellow teammates Olga Poteshkina, Elizaveta Barbatina and Vlada Starovoitova stormed down the pool to finish ahead of nearest challengers Japan (4:57.40) and Australia (4:57.77).

South Korea (4:11.44) tasted victory in the men’s 4x100m medley II1 relay, clinching gold off Hong Kong (4:11:71) to set the third and final world record of the night. The bronze went to Japan in 4:12.87.

Further success came Hong Kong’s way in the women’s 200m butterfly II1. Yui Lam Chan clocked a new World Intellectual Impairment Sport record of 2:33.46 whilst compatriot Ho Ying Cheung touched the wall at 2:40.38. Japan’s Moemi Kinoshita (2:45.10) completed the top three.

Spain’s Michelle Alonso Morales (33.48) ended her Brisbane 2019 campaign with a Global Games record in the women’s 50m breaststroke II1. Morales continues to hold onto the record which she set in 2016.

Brazil’s Debora Carneiro claimed the silver medal, clocking a time of 36.38. Australian favourite Paige Leonhardt’s (37.12) performance proved enough to hold off compatriot Ashley Van Rijswijk to claim the last spot on the podium.

Australia took their own golden slice of the action courtesy of Gabriel Howells (44.86) in the women’s 50m breaststroke II3. The Faroe Islands’ Signa Joensen (45.44) was second and Australian Sarah Wallace (55.55).

In the men’s 50m breaststroke II2 Spain celebrated as Ortiz Hernandez (42.48) touched in first. France’s Raphael Dutay (43.08) was second. Australia’s Bradley Doolan (44.43) took bronze.

All world records are subject to ratification by World Para Swimming.

Record-breaking day on track at athletics

By Maddie Mainwaring

The penultimate day of action on the track and field saw stellar performances in a number of events.

In the women’s discus II1 both the gold and silver medallist threw over the Global Games and World Intellectual Impairment Sport world record marks.

France’s Gloria Agblemagnon, came first with an incredible 43.63m, followed by Ecuador’s shot-put Paralympian Poleth Mendes Sanchez (43.15m). China’s Yang Zhao came in third with 37.63m.

Agblemagnon’s compatriot Nawa Adama took home gold with a time of 13.17 in the women’s 100m II1. Thailand’s Sukanya Charswat (13.22) followed ahead of Brazil’s Jardenia da Silva.

France took home another gold when Quentin Foratier (9:57.24) came first in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase II1. Great Britain’s Sam Fernando followed in second with a personal best of 9:58.82, and Spain’s Manuel Gomez Lucas came in third with 10:36.50.

Brazil’s Samuel Dias Conceicau (14.13m) claimed victory in the men’s triple jump II1. Portugal’s Lenine Cunha (13.11m) added one more medal to his career haul with silver. Ecuador’s Roberto Carlos Chala Espinoza (12.91) completed the podium.

Japan won gold in men’s javelin II1 with Taichi Saito’s 55.71m effort. Poland’s Piotr Rydzkowski came in second with 49.23m, and Finland’s Jani Petteri Tissari was third with 44.29m.

In the women’s long jump II1 Russia’s Aleksandra Ruchkina took home another medal after coming first with 5.41m. Fellow Russian Irina Potekhina (5.21m) was second and Portugal’s Ana Filipe (5.07m) third.

Cycling trifecta for France

By Aleasha Bliss

The third and final day of road cycling proved to be a day of shock wins and excitement with the women’s 5km and men’s 10km individual time trials taking place at the Murrarie Recreation Centre.

The standout race for the day had France demonstrating their strong and powerful team by blocking out the podium in the men’s 10km individual time trial.

The French were overcome with emotion as they realised what had happened. There was crying, hugging, jumping and chanting as the group celebrated their incredible sweep.

Leo Collet smashed his ultimate goal of improving on his seventh place finish from the 2017 Cycling World Championships, taking the top prize in an impressive 13:42.74. His average race speed was 43.76km/h.

Worlds bronze medallist Jeremey Teixeira Periera (13:55.29) was awarded silver. Third place went to Jean Claude Thievent (14:12.36).

The trio said they were “very happy, proud and it was a dream to represent France.”

The women’s 5km individual time trial saw Great Britain’s Lauren Booth (7:18.17) claim an incredible third Global Games gold medal.

Teammate and defending champion Kiera Byland (7:30.26) received her second silver alongside Monday’s team time trial gold. The bronze went to Russian Irina Nikitina whose time was 7:51.54.

Gold medallist Lauren Booth said she was excited to participate in the event for the first time.

“I can’t believe I’ve won three gold medals,’ the British rider said.

Cyclists will now take a break before the exciting debut of track cycling at the Anna Meares Velodrome on Saturday (19 October).

Great Britain take tennis upperhand

By Aleasha Bliss

Great Britain enjoyed another gold at the Queensland Tennis Centre, topping the podium in the mixed doubles II1.

Great Britain’s top seeds Dominic Iannotti and Anna McBride took gold when they defeated Australia’s Mitchell James and Kelly Wren in straight sets 6-2 6-2.

Bronze was awarded to Australia’s Archie Graham and Carla Lenarduzzi. They defeated compatriots Joshua Holloway and Yasmin Sanders in a nail-biting match 6-2 2-6 [10-8].

Friday will see the gold medal matches for men’s and women’s single matches II1 and II2 and men’s and women’s doubles II1.

McBride will face Belgium’s Hanne Lavreyson in the women’s singles II1.

In the women’s doubles II1 Lenarduzzi and Wren will go for the title against Sanders and Kathryn Wilson.

Graham will team-up with James in the men’s doubles II1 final to take on Iannotti and Fabrice Higgins.

Later on Iannotti and Higgins will switch from teammates to opponents for gold in the men’s singles II1.

Finally an all-Australia clash for the title in the men’s singles II2 will see Timothy Gould and Timothy Walsh face-off for gold.

Semi-final face-offs set in basketball

Australia have a triple shot on gold in both the men’s and women’s competition.

In the women’s both their Green and Gold teams will play in Friday’s semi-finals.

Australia Gold, the reigning world champions, will play 2017 Worlds bronze medallists France for a place in the final.

Australia Green are the 2017 runners-up and will play an up-and-coming Japan side.

In the men’s the hosts’ table-topping performance was rewarded with a semi-final clash against world title-holders France.

Portugal, the European champions, will play Poland.

Futsal nears climax

By Makayla Bishop

The futsal final is also set after a day of gripping games in Brisbane.

The semi-final between reigning world champions Portugal and Poland was a fight to finish.

Portugal started off strong during the first half, scoring a total of five goals with only one in reply coming from their opponents.

So far Portugal have held their form, winning all their matches except for a tie with Saudi Arabia on day three in an 18-goal thriller.

During the second half Poland reduced the deficit by two. But it was not enough as the Portuguese added three more to bring the final score to 8-3.

Portugal will face Saudi Arabia for gold after they beat France 7-4.

England claim fourth Twenty20 victory

By Mitchell Kidd

With England declared the winners of the five-day international cricket series after their third win against Australia on Wednesday (16 October), both sides were playing for honours on Thursday.

Despite the overall result already decided, neither team were prepared to sit-back. A thrilling match ensued at the Allan Border Field.

England won the toss and elected to bat. They looked as though they were going to carry on at the same rate of scoring as they did yesterday.

Ronnie Jackson made a quickfire 32 before getting caught out by Haydn Brumm off the bowling of Jesse Goodman.

Today was Dan Bowser’s day again though as he fell just short of his century with 99 not out.

Brumm was the best of the Australian bowlers with 1/31 off his four overs as England amassed a total of 2/202 off their 20.

Australia’s run chase started poorly with Boyd Duffield getting bowled in the first ball of their innings by Tayler Young.

Brumm and Gavin Hicks made it to the halfway point of their innings but still needed 149 if Australia were to win from their last 10 overs.

From there both men decided to turn on the style which put huge pressure back on the English. That included 21 scored by the pair off the 15th over and an outrageous six hit by Hicks on to the roof of the Matthew Hayden Grandstand in the 17th over.

The match looked as though it was going down to the wire with three overs to go. Australia needed 40 to win with Hicks and Brumm in full flight. However, some great bowling by Chris Edwards in the 18th saw only six runs scored and began to turn the tide back in England’s favour.

Young then came back on in the 19th and took the wickets of both Brumm and Hicks which halted Australia’s momentum.

Australia finished their 20 overs 27 runs short of the target at 6/176.

Records tumble in the 2019 Global Games

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Excitement rang out at the Brisbane Aquatics Centre on Wednesday (16 October) as another sensational round of finals delivered multiple records at the 2019 Global Games in Brisbane, Australia.

By Katie Hopkins

The standout performer on day four of swimming was Russia’s Artem Pavlenko.

The Russian won the men’s 200m breaststroke II1 in a world record time of 2:26.96.

Japan’s Taig Hayashida (2:30.98) and Toshiya Kako (2:33:09) completed the top three.

Pavlenko’s teammate Mikhail Kuliabin went on to impress in the men’s 100m butterfly II1, swimming a new Global Games record of 58.28 seconds. Australia’s Liam Schluter (59.18) also swam below the previous record for silver. South Korea’s Wong San Cho (59.58) was third.

The women’s 100m freestyle II1 saw Pernilla Lindberg (1:01.62) claim gold and a new Global Games record, just seconds ahead of Brazil’s Anna Soares who touched the wall at 1:01.65.

It was all smiles for home favourite Jack Dixon (1:17.41), in the men’s 100m butterfly II2 picking up his first medal of his Global Games campaign with bronze. France’s Axel Belig (1:15.88) claimed gold and Dixon’s teammate Colin Marks (1:16.68) followed for silver.

There was also an impressive performance in the women’s equivalent which saw 0.01 of a difference between gold and silver. It was France’s Cleo Renou (1:38.80) who touched first ahead of Spain’s De La Martinez (1:38.81) in a nail-biting finish.

Australia dominated in the 4x200m freestyle II1 relay events.

Jack Ireland, Mitchell Kilduff, Joshua Alford and Liam Schluter held a strong lead over nearest challengers, Hong Kong and Russia, to claim victory in the men’s, breaking the World Intellectual Impairment Sport record in 8:04.25.

Jade Lucy led the women’s relay team to gold in a new Global Games record of 9:21.35, with Madeleine McTernan, Paige Leonhardt and Amy Cook rounding out the quartet.

Russia were runners up with Brazil taking the bronze medal.

World records are subject to ratification by World Para Swimming.

Japan, Russia and France strike table tennis gold

By Aleasha Bliss

Another busy day at the Chandler Arena focused on the men’s and women’s II1, II2 and II3 team events.

Spectators were entertained with a nail-biting end to the day that saw Japan seizing the gold in the men’s team II1.

Japan’s Koya Kato took on Australia’s new men’s singles Global Games champion Sam Von Einem in a vocal and physically strong round with Kato cheering himself on with every point scored. Einem’s gold from yesterday could not help him conquer the court but the game was neck and neck until the very end.

Japan’s Takeshi Takemori played a strong game in the final round against Aussie Rory Carroll before he took the final victory.

Bronze went to France’s Lucas Creange, Antoine Zhao and Timothe Ivaldi and a combined Hong Kong – Hungary team of Ka Ho Fan, King Shing Yuen and men’s singles world No.2 Peter Palos.

The women’s II1 team saw gold to the Russians. Elena Prokofeva pocketed her second gold after winning the women’s singles just 24 hours before.

Between Prokofeva and team-mate Anzhelika Kosacheva the pair played a superior set against Poland. Krystyna Lysiak and Dorota Nowacka’s had to settle for silver.

Hong Kong’s star-studded team, which included Paralympic medallist Mui Wui Ng as well as Pui Kei Wong and Ting Ting Wong took bronze. Japan’s Kanami Furukawa, Maki Ito and Sayuri Mio joined them on the podium.

France left with golds in the mixed II3 and men’s and women’s II2.

England win Twenty20 cricket series

By Mitchell Kilduff

The English cricket team have emerged the victors from their five game series with Australia, winning their third clash at the Allan Border Field to put themselves out of reach with two days to spare.

Australia won the toss on Wednesday and elected to bat first. Their openers started well before a fantastic outfield catch – England’s Johnny Gale dived over the boundary line and flicked the ball back mid-air to Tayler Young who then caught the ball inside the field of play.

Australia looked as though they had the potential to post a big total however would unfortunately lose wickets just as things started to go their way.

Some hard running and hitting late by Connor Sheppard and Luke Goodman helped push Australia’s total up over a run a ball.

Australia’s 20 overs closed with the score at 7/126. Boyd Duffield made 26 and Jamie Phillips 22 to leave as top scorers.

England’s Thomas Wilson also came away with figures of 2/20 off his four overs.

In reply England’s run chase was hard and fast from ball one.

Ronnie Jackson set the tone with a blistering 54 off 25 balls before he was caught out by Connor Sheppard off the bowling of Luke Goodman.

At this point the English were in a strong position only six overs in.

However a mix up between Johnny Gale and Dan Bowser resulted in Bowser being runout for 0 and gave the Australians hope of reigning the English in.

However, Gale with Jack Perry and Chris Edwards, steadied the ship and managed to chase down the remaining runs in 11.1 overs. England finished 3/128 with Gale top scoring with 58 and Jackson making 54.

Jackson reflected on his innings after the match:

“Today I just came out with a positive mindset. I just had one of those feelings I was going to do well today and it turns out I did alright. From ball one I hit a four and it just seemed to be carrying on from there.”

Australia close outdoor rowing with a bang

By Makayla Bishop

Australia dominated day two of the rowing at the Coomera Watersports Club winning multiple medals.

Australian Mac Russell took home an impressive seven gold medals in 500m and 1000m mixed, single and double scull events.

The women’s 1000m single scull was claimed by Australian Lauren Webber, followed in second place Italy’s Elisabetta Tieghi and bronze for Australia’s Ruby Sutherland.

The women’s 500m single scull featured a win for Italy’s Serena Giorgetti with second going to Portugal’s Carla Silva.

Portugal and Australia face-off in basketball

Day four of basketball delivered Australia’s Gold’s latest victory in the women’s, taking their record to six wins out of six.

On Wednesday they overcame Israel 21-9. In contrast their teammates, competing for Australia Green, suffered two losses to Israel and Japan.

Japan look to be the main opponents for Australia Gold, also enjoying another win against France in their second match of the day, 11-8.

In the men’s Australia lead the standings but only on goal difference. Their closest rivals are world silver medallists Portugal.

The fierce competition between the two sides was played out at the Hibiscus Arena with a closely matched tie on Wednesday. There was little to separate the two teams for most of the match, but it was Australia who gained a slim one point advantage to take the win 67-66.

In the other match, world champions France took on Poland and secured a 65-45 victory.

Finals clashes set in tennis

The men’s and women’s singles II1 will reach their climax on Friday (17 October) following Wednesday’s semi-finals.

In the men’s singles, there was drama and disappointment for hosts Australia as their star player – and top seed – Archie Graham – was knocked-out by British world No.4 Dominic Iannotti.

Iannotti will now face teammate Fabrice Higgins for gold.

The women’s singles will feature a clash between Belgium’s top ranked player Hanne Lavreyson and Great Britain’s Anna McBride.

Iannotti and McBride will also get the chance to team-up and go for the title in the mixed doubles when they face Australia’s Mitchell James and Kelly Wren on Thursday (17 October).