Six Welsh athletes chosen for GB Special Olympics

Six Welsh athletes have been selected to compete as a part of the GB Special Olympics squad travelling to Berlin.

The First Minister wished them “every success” during an event at the Senedd.

More than 7,000 competitors will compete in the Special Olympics World Games.

Athlete Joshua Longbottom said that after the "struggle" faced by athletes like him during the pandemic, it was a "really good feeling" to see the hard work pay off.

The Special Olympics World Games will see athletes with intellectual disabilities from 170 countries compete across 26 sports over nine days.

The world’s largest inclusive sporting event, it takes place every four years and kicks off on 17 June.

The six Welsh competitors range in age from 18 to 40 and are competing in sports including badminton, powerlifting, bocce and athletics.

The opening ceremony will be held in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.

A reception at the Senedd was held to wish the athletes luck before they fly on Monday.

Joshua Longbottom, 28, from Llanfihangel Tal y Llyn in Brecon, will compete in the 100m, mixed relay and shot put.

He said sport made him feel "energised", and added: "It's going to be a packed week, but it's going to be worth it for the whole experience."

His parents, Sally and Rob Cole, said they were "ecstatic" and "super proud" when Joshua made the team.

Sally said: "Josh started to get into sports when he was about 10 or 11, and it soon became an outlet for how he was feeling at the time.

"He became sort of hooked really, and every opportunity from then on he's grabbed. It's been quite life-changing."

The Welsh athletes will travel to Berlin on Monday as a part of Team GB

Llinos Gilmore Jones, 40, from Llanelli, said she “hoped” to win gold in Bocce, which she will compete in with teammate Michael Beynon, 27, from Chirk.

“My friends, my family they’ve always supported me, especially my dad,” Llinos said.

“I’ve been preparing a lot, and training every week.”

She said meeting the First Minister was “amazing".

"He couldn’t stop chatting," she said.

The first minister met the athletes at the Senedd

At the Senedd, First Minister Mark Drakeford wished the group luck and said they should be proud of their achievements.

“They’ll be representing Wales, they’ll be enthusing other young people to follow in their footsteps and it’s fantastic to have them here at the Senedd,” he said.

“We wish you every success," he added to the athletes.

The team met at the event at the Senedd ahead of the competition

Dr Stephen Walker, head of the delegation for the Great Britain team, added: "This is the crème de la crème. Going to a World Games is the top event they can go to in the world."

He said it had been quite a rush preparing for the games, as Covid caused planning delays. But despite the "hiccups", he said he was "very excited".

The Special Olympics World Games have been running since 1968, when they first began in Chicago.

The UK body is also the largest provider of year-round sports training and competition for children and adults of all abilities with intellectual disabilities.

The BBC will be running coverage of the Games, which take place from 17 -25 June, as part of its #talkdisability series.