By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, May 5: The Special Olympics Kuching Chapter emerged as the overall champion of the 7th Sarawak Special Olympics Games after dominating the medal tally with an impressive haul of 131 medals.
The chapter secured 51 gold, 46 silver, and 34 bronze medals, outperforming four other participating divisions—Samarahan, Sibu, Bintulu, and Miri—in seven sports contested: athletics, swimming, bowling, bocce, badminton, football, and table tennis.
Kuching’s dominance was most evident in track and field (37 medals), swimming (30), and bowling (29), contributing significantly to their overall lead.
Sibu Chapter came in second with a total of 89 medals—32 gold, 28 silver, and 29 bronze—driven by their outstanding performance in table tennis, where they swept all 30 medals at stake.
Samarahan Chapter followed in third place with 59 medals—20 gold, 23 silver, and 16 bronze—largely contributed by their athletes in track and field and bocce.
Miri collected a total of 37 medals (14 gold, 10 silver, 13 bronze), while Bintulu amassed 32 medals (11 gold, 11 silver, 10 bronze).
A total of 358 athletes from five chapters—Special Olympics Kuching Chapter, Special Olympics Samarahan, Special Olympics Sibu Chapter, Special Olympics Bintulu Chapter, and Special Olympics Miri Chapter—competed in the event from May 2 to 5. They were supported by approximately 400 individuals, including delegation heads, technical teams, and volunteers.
Sarawak Minister of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said this year’s Games had incorporated the Healthy Athletes Programme (HAP)—an initiative that provides health screenings and education to athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs), many of whom face barriers in accessing medical services.
A total of 278 athletes (77.6 per cent) underwent screenings conducted by 82 trained volunteer healthcare professionals.
“Without these screenings, many potential health issues would go undetected. That’s why we encourage all chapters to carry out HAP even outside of the Games,” she said during the closing ceremony held at Hikmah Exchange and Event Centre (HEEC) last night (May 4).
In recognition of the success of this year’s Games, Fatimah announced that the 8th Special Olympics Sarawak Games will be hosted by the Bintulu Chapter in 2027.
She also expressed her deep gratitude to the Sarawak government for its support, particularly the RM1.9 million grant that made the 7th Special Olympics State Games possible. — DayakDaily
