Sweden and Germany strike gold medals

Sweden and Germany struck one gold each while the hosts UAE helped itself to two bronze medals at the end of the opening day of the 2011 International Wheelchair and Amputee Sport Federation (IWAS) World Junior Games that got under way at the Dubai Police Officers Club on Sunday. In the opening night of the track and field, Sweden's Niklas Almeras took gold in the 1,500m of the under-23 category, while Germany's David Scherer took the top spot in the 1,500m in the under-18 category. Almeras was timed at 3 minutes, 45.71 seconds on his way to the under-23 gold leaving Switzerland's Lucas Wilhemson in second with a time of 3:49.01. Mohammad Abdullah of the UAE paced his race well, but missed out on the silver medal as he finished third with a time of 3:49.79. In the under-18 category, Scherer was timed at 3:45.72 for the gold medal, while William Smith of Great Britain had to stay content with the silver after he finished marginally slow with a time of 3:45.93 and the UAE's Mohammad Aktham was placed third for the bronze medal with a time of 3:49.95. Earlier, the five-day competition got under way with the opening ceremony at the Dubai Police Officers Club in the presence of Mohammad Al Hamli, Vice President, UAE National Olympic Committee (AENOC) and Chairman of the UAE Special Olympics Committee, Tariq Bin Khadem, Vice-President, UAE Special Olympics Committee, Thani Juma Belreqqad, Chairman, Local Organising Committee, Tournament Director Majid Al Usaimi, Dr. Ahmad Saad Al Sharif, Secretary General, Dubai Sports Council (DSC) and Nasser Al Fardan, Secretary-General, Sharjah Sports Council. This year's edition of the IWAS World Junior Games has attracted Special Needs athletes from Palestine, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Hong Kong, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Holland, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Taiwan, Croatia, Denmark, Sweden, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Russia, Lithuania, Belgium and Finland. Competitions are being held in three sports disciplines, namely athletics (at the Dubai Police Officers Club), Table Tennis (at Al Ahli Club) and Powerlifting (at Dubai Club for Special Needs). The UAE has the biggest contingent with 35 athletes, while Great Britain and neighbouring Iran have 30 athletes each.