Marie Devine won a silver medal in the 5k at the World Transplant Games on Monday. She was 4th female overall in 23:57 min and second in 40-49 category. She was also a member of the GB and NI team which won gold in the All-Ages 5K team race. Marie has two more events to do, 400m and 800m on Friday and Saturday respectively with hopefully more medals to come from her.
The 19th World Transplant Games in Durban South Africa opened this week. The week-long competition, which has also been previously held in Belfast, is expected to attract sportsmen and women from around the world, using sports to raise awareness about the issues of organ donation and transplantation. It is also set to highlight the quality of life that can be enjoyed after receiving donor organs.
The opening of the World Transplant Games was marked with a ceremony featuring a mass choir performance of the official event song, “Our Hearts Are Beating”. The transnational multi-sport event will be held at Durban’s Kings Park Sporting Precinct, which was purposefully build for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The sporting complex is poised to be South Africa’s showcase for any possible Olympic Games bids.