Basketball Takes Home the Gold!

After struggling through the preliminary rounds at the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games, the Kentucky basketball team that is representing Team USA at the Games played well when it counted most. The team, made up of seven women from the Bowling Green area and two from Owensboro followed a shocking win over previously undefeated Serbian team with a 21-16 victory over Tunisia to win the Gold Medal in their division of the Tournament.

The Kentuckians used 10 points from Mary Ann Wilcome of Bowling Green to seal the win of the Tunisians who had beaten the Kentucky squad 22-9 in the opening game of the Tournament.

The Gold Medal was a significant turnaround for the team which entered the medal round with an 0-3 record.

“This is an unbelievable feeling,” head coach Brent Belcher said. “I think the turning point for our team was in our third game when we came with in a few points of our first win. Our players really gained some confidence. We all felt really good coming into this game and I knew from the opening tip that we had a good chance to win.”

Taylor Mill Special Olympics runner Matt Minning had to wait an extra day before finally getting his first chance at a medal at the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games underway in Shanghai, China, but the wait proved worth it as Minning claimed the Silver Medal in his division of the 5,000-meter run in a time of 20:30.51. Rasejakate Pesa of South Africa won the Gold and Chunkang Zhang of China took the Bronze. The race was postponed for one day as the remnants of Typhoon Krosa reached Shanghai, dumping rain throughout the city and postponing all outdoor events at the Games.

Elizabethtown Special Olympics Bowler Jessica Haggerty closed a very successful trip to the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games with a Silver Medal in the Singles competition, finishing the Games with three medals in three events, including one Gold.

Haggerty bowled a three-game 390 series in her Silver Medal performance, 48 pins behind Gold Medallist Maria Billgren of Sweden and just 17 pins in front of Bronze Medallist Marie Stephanie Babst of the Philippines.

Overnight on Oct. 10

Lexington bowler Andrew Browning is expected to complete his competition in the Singles event overnight. Browning has an excellent chance at his first medal of the Games.

Russellville gymnast Lee Dockins is also scheduled to finally get a chance to compete for a medal, the last Kentucky athlete to have that opportunity. Dockins enters the finals in fourth in her division in the All-Around after the preliminaries. The preliminary score counts for 25% of the gymnasts final score and tonight’s events count for 75%.