Two West Australians, Patrick Ricciardo (17) from City Beach and Stephen Donovan (16) from Mt Pleasant, represented Australia recently at the 3rd World Down Syndrome Swimming Championships in Limerick, Ireland. The boys were part of a Team of 22 which included 8 Queenslanders, 6 swimmers from New South Wales and 6 from Victoria. The Australian Team was second overall in the competition, winning 69 medals (19 gold, 34 silver, 16 bronze + 20 world records). The next Championships will be held in Portugal in 2008.

It was a wonderful experience and a rare opportunity for people with Down syndrome to compete on a level playing field. Patrick came home with three silver medals (200m Individual Medley – 3.40.25, 100m Breastroke – 1.46.81 and 50m Backstroke – 49.56) and 7 personal best times. Stephen came home with a gold medal (50m Butterfly – 37.72) and a bronze medal (50m Backstroke – 45.33) and 4 personal bests.