Wed 10 Oct 2007Golden games for Irish gymnasts"Thank you and . . . I love you!" The Irish Special Olympics
athlete Margaret Walsh, from Midleton, Co Cork, has just performed
her rhythmic floor exercise at Shanghai's International Gymnastics
Centre. She is glowing. When she arrives back at the family seating
area, she makes straight for her mother, flings her arms around her
and gives her a big hug.It's the kind of moment which, frankly, makes the Special
Olympics truly special. Still, competing also counts at the games -
and the Irish gymnasts have been holding their own against a
battery of accomplished Chinese, Russian and Czech opponents,
winning both medals and friends in the enormous arena known in
Irish circles in Shanghai as "the stadium with the Tescos
underneath".