Provided by UK Deaf Sport
Athletics
Lauren Peffers secures GB's first silver medal!
Team GB squad members mingled with supporters to cheer on Lauren Peffers in her bid to win the 400m in the Taipei Stadium this evening.
Peffers was always going to be there or thereabouts after her storming semi-final run but despite straining every sinew down the straight, she could not quite catch her Belarusian rival Tsiarentsyeva.
Lauren now turns to defend her title in the 800m.
Swimming
Hannah Fitton grabs second bronze medal
Hannah Fitton, who landed GB's first medal of the Games, repeated her bronze feat of yesterday. This time, she took third place in her preferred event, the 200m individual medley.
Hannah's efforts mean she has two medals in her first-ever Deaflympics at the tender age of 16.
Team Manager Vincent Dickson was ecstatic:
"Hannah sacrificed her social life to put in hard work at the swimming pool and this is the result - a bronze medal with five seconds off her PB. Fantastic!"
Football
Team GB's hold on the gold medal is over after they crashed to a 3-1 defeat against USA.
Jamie Clarke put GB ahead but the Americans equalised on 24 minutes with a high shot that was beyond the reach of Gary Spotswood.
There was a further setback for Team GB when USA went ahead just before half-time. USA now needed to score just one more goal to send GB crashing out at the first stage and it came with a free kick.
This left GB with a mountain to climb and they threw everything forward in the last few minutes but the ball just would not go in the net.
"It was just not meant to be", said a rueful captain Jon Evans afterwards.
Team GB finished level on points with the USA but with a poorer goal difference.
Tennis
Lewis Fletcher continued his good form by swiftly seeing off the challenge of his Slovakian opponent 6-2, 6-1 to book his place in the next round.
Darren O'Donnell raced into a 5-0 lead against Gunnar Kett from Germany with the help of some sublime lobs and won the first set, 6-3.
The German took the next set but always looked in some discomfort and walked off the court, seemingly injured while 3-1 down in the decider.
Fletcher and O'Donnell teamed up later on to come back from a set down to win their Doubles match, making it a superb day on court for the British duo.
Anthony Sinclair was in a battle of the baseliners against Japanese teenager Reiki Kajishita. Sinclair took the first set 6-3 but was rattled by an outrageous line call at a crucial point in the second, which he lost 6-4.
A crowd gathered to watch the players in the deciding set, which Kajishita swept away Sinclair's singles hopes, 6-0.
Daniel Tunstall only had an outside chance against his highly-ranked Hungarian opponent and went out in two sets. Tunstall also lost his Doubles match, with Jamie King.
Great Britain currently hold 31st place in the overall medals table, with a total of 3 medals: 1 silver and 2 bronze
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
Day 2 Report
Provided by UK Deaf Sport
Swimming
16 year-old Hannah Fitton has given the GB camp a huge lift by landing the first medal of the Taipei Games.
Hannah qualified in fifth place for the final and Swimming Manager Vincent Dickson thought she might have an outside chance.
She did better than Dickson hoped, holding off the challenge of two Russians to win the bronze by 0.91 seconds.
Dickson was elated:
"Not only did Hannah grab the bronze, she knocked a whole four seconds off her personal best. What a fantastic performance - I'm so proud."
Hannah, who was born in Scunthorpe but is now of Wisconsin, was only called up to the squad when her father emailed coach Dickson his daughter's PB (personal best) times on the off chance.
Athletics
Lauren Peffers lit up the Taipei Stadium as darkness fell by breaking the Deaflympics record in her semi-final for the 400m. The previous best was 56.67 but Lauren powered away at the 200m mark to win with a time of 56.12
Under a blazing morning sun at the same venue earlier, young sprinters Nelson Bolumbu and John Ruddy both powered through to the Men's 100m semi-final the same evening.
Ruddy was first to run but could only finish seventh, the same position as Bolumbu. Both runners will now concentrate on the 200m, which starts on Friday.
Tennis
Lewis Fletcher had the match of the day at the riverside tennis courts when he fought back from a set down to beat Austrian second seed Daniel Erlbacher 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Catherine Graham had been slightly apprehensive at the Team breakfast this morning as she believed her Japanese opponent, would be "a player with the game to slow me down".
It was Catherine who appeared to be in a hurry however, as she raced through through 6-0, 6-0.
In the Men's Doubles Daniel Tunstall got some action after his walkover Singles result yesterday when he teamed up with Jamie King to go through to the second round after beating an Australian pair 7-6, 6-4.
Football
GB Women put 18 (yes, 18) past a hapless Thailand in their morning kick-off. Long-haired striker Danielle Evans collected a triple hat trick, to make her tally 12 goals in two games.
The 18-0 result sees GB safely into the semi finals ahead of their last game against Russia on Wednesday.
Badminton
Team GB were facing a tough task against Chinese Taipei and it proved to be one just beyond the players in the Team event. GB put up a brave fight but went down 3-2 to the host nation.
Our badminton interests now turn to the Singles and Doubles events which start on Thursday.
Table Tennis
It was another tough day with the bats for Team GB who succumbed 3-1 to Poland. Despite the losses, the team feel these Games will be good experience for the younger players, Nicholas Gilmour and James Meyers.
Reaction
Reviewing Day Two, Team GB Chef de Mission Chris Gywnn commented:
"It's great to get off the mark for medals - let's hope this is the spark we need to go on and get some more".
Full results will be available at the official Deaflympics website. Photos from Day Two can be viewed in the UKDS gallery.
Swimming
16 year-old Hannah Fitton has given the GB camp a huge lift by landing the first medal of the Taipei Games.
Hannah qualified in fifth place for the final and Swimming Manager Vincent Dickson thought she might have an outside chance.
She did better than Dickson hoped, holding off the challenge of two Russians to win the bronze by 0.91 seconds.
Dickson was elated:
"Not only did Hannah grab the bronze, she knocked a whole four seconds off her personal best. What a fantastic performance - I'm so proud."
Hannah, who was born in Scunthorpe but is now of Wisconsin, was only called up to the squad when her father emailed coach Dickson his daughter's PB (personal best) times on the off chance.
Athletics
Lauren Peffers lit up the Taipei Stadium as darkness fell by breaking the Deaflympics record in her semi-final for the 400m. The previous best was 56.67 but Lauren powered away at the 200m mark to win with a time of 56.12
Under a blazing morning sun at the same venue earlier, young sprinters Nelson Bolumbu and John Ruddy both powered through to the Men's 100m semi-final the same evening.
Ruddy was first to run but could only finish seventh, the same position as Bolumbu. Both runners will now concentrate on the 200m, which starts on Friday.
Tennis
Lewis Fletcher had the match of the day at the riverside tennis courts when he fought back from a set down to beat Austrian second seed Daniel Erlbacher 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Catherine Graham had been slightly apprehensive at the Team breakfast this morning as she believed her Japanese opponent, would be "a player with the game to slow me down".
It was Catherine who appeared to be in a hurry however, as she raced through through 6-0, 6-0.
In the Men's Doubles Daniel Tunstall got some action after his walkover Singles result yesterday when he teamed up with Jamie King to go through to the second round after beating an Australian pair 7-6, 6-4.
Football
GB Women put 18 (yes, 18) past a hapless Thailand in their morning kick-off. Long-haired striker Danielle Evans collected a triple hat trick, to make her tally 12 goals in two games.
The 18-0 result sees GB safely into the semi finals ahead of their last game against Russia on Wednesday.
Badminton
Team GB were facing a tough task against Chinese Taipei and it proved to be one just beyond the players in the Team event. GB put up a brave fight but went down 3-2 to the host nation.
Our badminton interests now turn to the Singles and Doubles events which start on Thursday.
Table Tennis
It was another tough day with the bats for Team GB who succumbed 3-1 to Poland. Despite the losses, the team feel these Games will be good experience for the younger players, Nicholas Gilmour and James Meyers.
Reaction
Reviewing Day Two, Team GB Chef de Mission Chris Gywnn commented:
"It's great to get off the mark for medals - let's hope this is the spark we need to go on and get some more".
Full results will be available at the official Deaflympics website. Photos from Day Two can be viewed in the UKDS gallery.
Day 1 report
Provided by UK Deaf Sport
Taekwondo
Andrew Yick made history by becoming Great Britain's first-ever Deaflympic competitor in a martial arts event but could only finish fourth in the Tae-kwon-do (58kg) event. Cheered on by a pack of colourful British supporters, Yick fought his way through a tight first bout.
A muscle tear did not help Yick's chances of progress however and he was later outclassed by Muhammed Guler (Turkey), who went on to win gold.
Andrew needed hospital treatment for a foot injury after losing his 3rd/4th play-off bout but was back at the training camp this evening to accept commiserations from fellow athletes.
Men's Football
In an early kick-off, Team GB had to settle for a 0-0 draw with Ireland. The result leaves both teams level on 4 points at the top of their group.
GB had beaten Japan 2-1 in their first game on a waterlogged pitch but conditions were much better today.
A tight match of few chances saw two Irish players sent off and they were joined by GB's Oliver Monksfield, who was dismissed for retaliation after a tackle.
Young striker Jamie Clarke went closest for GB with a late shot that hit the post.
Monksfield will miss GB's next game, their final group game against the USA on Tuesday. That match kicks off at 2.30am British time.
Badminton
In the Team Event, Team GB were drawn a tough start against a strong South Korea.
GB pushed their opponents all the way in each of the five games (two singles and three doubles matches) and the 0-5 scoreline did not reflect the quality of the team's play.
Team Manager Janet Thompson was confident results would improve for the afternoon match with Hong Kong and she was proved correct as GB romped to an easy 5-0 win.
Opening ceremony flag bearer Andrea Hardwick was in action, teaming up with Kirstie Allen - making her Deaflympics debut - to win their afternoon rubber.
The matches took place in a terrific atmosphere as badminton is an extremely popular sport in Taiwan. Many locals waved flags for Chinese Taipei, GB's next opponents.
Table Tennis
GB Table Tennis saw their hopes in the Team event come to an early end in the Taipei Arena where games were being beamed live on TV.
It was always going to be difficult against highly-ranked Japan but one defeat turned to two when GB were beaten by Austria in the afternoon.
Coach David Evans still had special words of praise for Nicholas Gilmour who "played out of his skin" to beat the Japanese world No.2 in his morning match.
Tennis
GB Tennis were also out this morning with Anthony Sinclair and Daniel Tunstall both in action... or nearly.
Sinclair progressed against Jurgen Scheutz of Austria in the Men's Singles first round. Tunstall, meanwhile put in a perfect performance by turning up on court with his racket - his Nigerian opponent failed to show up!
Full results will be available at the official Deaflympics website. Photos from Day One can be viewed in the UKDS gallery.
Taekwondo
Andrew Yick made history by becoming Great Britain's first-ever Deaflympic competitor in a martial arts event but could only finish fourth in the Tae-kwon-do (58kg) event. Cheered on by a pack of colourful British supporters, Yick fought his way through a tight first bout.
A muscle tear did not help Yick's chances of progress however and he was later outclassed by Muhammed Guler (Turkey), who went on to win gold.
Andrew needed hospital treatment for a foot injury after losing his 3rd/4th play-off bout but was back at the training camp this evening to accept commiserations from fellow athletes.
Men's Football
In an early kick-off, Team GB had to settle for a 0-0 draw with Ireland. The result leaves both teams level on 4 points at the top of their group.
GB had beaten Japan 2-1 in their first game on a waterlogged pitch but conditions were much better today.
A tight match of few chances saw two Irish players sent off and they were joined by GB's Oliver Monksfield, who was dismissed for retaliation after a tackle.
Young striker Jamie Clarke went closest for GB with a late shot that hit the post.
Monksfield will miss GB's next game, their final group game against the USA on Tuesday. That match kicks off at 2.30am British time.
Badminton
In the Team Event, Team GB were drawn a tough start against a strong South Korea.
GB pushed their opponents all the way in each of the five games (two singles and three doubles matches) and the 0-5 scoreline did not reflect the quality of the team's play.
Team Manager Janet Thompson was confident results would improve for the afternoon match with Hong Kong and she was proved correct as GB romped to an easy 5-0 win.
Opening ceremony flag bearer Andrea Hardwick was in action, teaming up with Kirstie Allen - making her Deaflympics debut - to win their afternoon rubber.
The matches took place in a terrific atmosphere as badminton is an extremely popular sport in Taiwan. Many locals waved flags for Chinese Taipei, GB's next opponents.
Table Tennis
GB Table Tennis saw their hopes in the Team event come to an early end in the Taipei Arena where games were being beamed live on TV.
It was always going to be difficult against highly-ranked Japan but one defeat turned to two when GB were beaten by Austria in the afternoon.
Coach David Evans still had special words of praise for Nicholas Gilmour who "played out of his skin" to beat the Japanese world No.2 in his morning match.
Tennis
GB Tennis were also out this morning with Anthony Sinclair and Daniel Tunstall both in action... or nearly.
Sinclair progressed against Jurgen Scheutz of Austria in the Men's Singles first round. Tunstall, meanwhile put in a perfect performance by turning up on court with his racket - his Nigerian opponent failed to show up!
Full results will be available at the official Deaflympics website. Photos from Day One can be viewed in the UKDS gallery.
Reports from Days 1 and 2 in BSL
Full reports of the first two days in Taipei are available in BSL here
Friday, 4 September 2009
Great Britain Deaflympics schedule announced
The schedule of events for the Great Britain team has been announced.
The full schedule can be found here
The full schedule can be found here
Deaf athletes ready to achieve sporting dreams
Deaf athletes from every corner of the British Isles will be chasing their dream of winning a gold medal when they compete at the Deaflympics, starting on 5 September.On 31 August, the British Deaflympics Team (Team GB) will have fully assembled at their base in Taipei, venueof the 21st Summer Deaflympics. They will join 4000 athletes from over 80 countries at these Games, which take place from 5 - 15 September.
The 80-strong squad is led by outstanding Deaflympian Rajeev Bagga, who is hoping to land his sixth individual gold medal in badminton.
Team GB are defending Deaflympic champions in Men's football, having clinched the gold medal with victory at the Melbourne 2005 Games. Lee Farrell, who scored the dramatic late winner in the 2005 final, is in the squad, which is captained by Jon Evans.
Team GB also includes a Women's football squad, who will be aiming to improve on their impressive bronze medal placing of four years ago.
The athletic squad boasts current gold medallists in Joanne Davison (Women's hammer) and Lauren Peffers (Women's 800m). Several Team GB track and field athletes will be making their Deaflympic debuts.
Team GB is also represented in swimming, table tennis, tennis and - for the first time ever - in martial arts. Andrew Yick carries the hopes of Britain in the Tae Kwon Do event .
Derek Simmons, Honorary President of UK Deaf Sport (UKDS), commented:
"We are tremendously proud of our athletes who have arrived in Taipei, ready to compete in the 21st Deaflympics.
"They have worked extremely hard to secure their places in Team GB and to compete against the world's best Deaf athletes.
"Following the UK Goverment's decision not to provide funding for Team GB, UKDS is very grateful to the many sponsors who have helped make it possible for the athletes to be in Taipei.
"While some athletes received donations, it is important to stress that a number of our squad took out personal loans in order to be able to compete at this level and represent Great Britain.
"We salute our athletes for their commitment to their country and to their sport. Now, we hope their efforts will be rewarded with a haul of medals from Taipei 2009."
Deaflympics kick-off in Taipei!
The 21st Summer Deaflympics are due to officially start tomorrow (5th) in Taipei and Hearing Times is bringing you exclusive coverage of the games in association with UK Deaf Sport.
A full schedule of events for the games can be found here
For a list of when and where the Great Britain team are taking part please visit the UKDS website here
We will be keeping you updated with all the results, interviews and photos direct from the games so keep checking back!
A full schedule of events for the games can be found here
For a list of when and where the Great Britain team are taking part please visit the UKDS website here
We will be keeping you updated with all the results, interviews and photos direct from the games so keep checking back!
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