***NZ's first medals at the 2009 Deaflympics in Taiwan***

Michael lynch won Gold in the +84kg mens kumite division and Kerry Titcombe won bronze in the Womens kumite division on Tuesday at the 2009 Deaflympics picking up the New Zealand teams first medals.

Rank	Athlete
1	LYNCH Michael Glenn (1970) NZL
2	DEMIN Valentin Nikolaevich (1982) RUS
3	CAFFI Michele (1977) ITA

Rank	Athlete
1	KURIMOTO Saya (1989) JPN
2	LIN Wen Fang (1971) TPE
3	TITCOMBE Kerry Ann (1969) NZL

 

With other NZ team members still to compete in cycling, swimming and table tennis there are still high hopes for more success. 

The 21st Deaflympics being held in Taiwan officially opened on Saturday night with a bang! A 3 hour show interspersed with fireworks where 100 countries and 4200 athletes marched into the areana. Speeches by Jet Lee and Taiwans president kept the night interesting.

NZ has a small team of hopefuls including Fushin Ryu Karate Members Kerry Titcombe and Michael Lynch who will be competing in kumite on Tuesday.

Sunday morning sees NZ cyclist Daniel competing in the 1 km sprint race.

I'll keep you all updated on the NZ teams progress over the next week!