By the end of the fourth day of competition at the Special Olympics World Summer Games 2007 in Shanghai, Irish athletes had garnered a total of 31 medals: 13 gold, six silver and 12 bronze.
Derek Kelly and Diane Brown took gold medals in the badminton mixed doubles over the weekend, as did Carol O'Rourke (bocce). Kieran Buckley and Stephen Roche (equestrian) and Mary Henry (athletics).
The men's bowling doubles team, Ronnie Harris and Diarmuid Coughlan, also struck gold. Sunday's hero of the hour, however, was the young Belfast gymnast Una MacGarry, who netted two gold medals and two bronze medals, as well as an award for the best overall gymnastics performance of the day.
For the most up-to-date results, log on to the Special Olympics website: www.2007specialolympics.com/webenglish/games/cjfb/index.html
'Golden Week' ends
Shanghai returns to work today after the annual week-long holiday which marks the foundation of the People's Republic of China on October 1st. This year it certainly lived up to its nickname, "Golden Week": sunny weather, allied to the Special Olympics and the Chinese Grand Prix, brought throngs of tourists into the city, where shops and restaurants reported record takings. Last year, retail sales in the city's 358 medium and large retailers jumped 21.4 per cent to 3.99 billion yuan - 8 per cent higher than in 2005. For the moment, however, it's back to porridge - big-time.
The tail end of a typhoon brought grey skies and rain to the city last night, while the return of a massive white-collar workforce is also expected to dramatically increase levels of both traffic and smog as the week goes on.