(L-R) Brunei's Special Olympics World Summer Games 2011 gold medalists Mardiana Mohd Yussap, Dk Nuramaliyana Pg Hj Ibrahim, Siti Nur Afifah Aziemah Abd Sahak and Nurhamraa Chaine posing for a photo after the team's arrival at the Brunei International Airport yesterday. Picture: BT/Jason Thomas

Brunei's athletes can learn a thing or two about the contingent that returned from the Special Olympics World Summer Games 2011 yesterday.

The country took home three gold, three silver and five bronze medals from the multi-sport event in Athens, a fine haul from a team of 12 athletes who only competed in two sports athletics and bocce.

All the more impressive was the fact that it was the first time any of the dozen athletes had flew the flag for the country.

"We are so proud of them!" gushed Deputy Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Datin Hjh Adina Othman when asked about the Sultanate's performance yesterday.

"We sent 12 athletes and they returned with 11 medals, and that's fantastic! For such a small country like Brunei, going to such a big world meet and winning all these medals is great.

"They have to be given due credit because they have been maintaining their training. It has been continuous and that is a message to all athletes. That's why they did so well.

"They did as well as the last edition and we are proud they have been able to maintain their standard," she added after the team's arrival at the Brunei International Airport.

Like in the 2007 edition in Shanghai where Brunei finished with three gold, four silver and nine bronze medals the aim this year was to reach the three-gold mark.

Compared to four years ago, this year's display should be considered better because the country sent 22 athletes to the Chinese metropolis almost double this year's number.

As for the continuous training, Datin Hjh Adina could not have hit the nail on the head any better.

Training year round, the team started intensive training three months ago and the results are there for all to see.

The gold medals came from Siti Nur Afifah Aziemah Abd Sahak in the Div 21 100m race, Nurhamraa Chaine in the F18 AT 200 metres race and the duo of Mardiana Mohd Yussap and Dk Nuramaliyana Pg Hj Ibrahim in the F1 women's bocce doubles.

Mardiana was the most successful member of the team after also winning a silver and bronze medal.

She bagged a silver medal in the F02 women's bocce singles event and was a part of the four-member squad which finished third in the bocce team event.

Joining Mardiana in winning bronze were Dk Nuramaliyana Pg Hj Mohamad, Li Chun Gid and Muhammad Saifullah Abdul Kahar.

The story behind Mardiana and Nuramaliyana's gold medals, where they stepped up to the occasion after a heavy loss in their previous game, is one they won't forget anytime soon.

They started their campaign by squeezing past Bangladesh's Sylvia Rahman and Sadia Akhter Urmi 5-4 and continued by beating Great Britain's Susan George and Heather Williams 7-5 in their second game.

However, Bangladesh surprised them 12-0 in their second meeting.

With only three teams in the competition, both teams met again in the final, and Brunei powered to gold with a 10-3 win.

"Maybe it was the pressure, that's why we lost so badly against Bangladesh," they said.

"But then in the final match we realised this was our chance to win gold," they added.

Siti Nur Afifah, who also won bronze in the F22 AT 100m race, was Brunei's second best athlete at the meet.

"I'm happy to have won both medals," she smiled.

"I was training for six months before the tournament and though it was my first time representing the country, I was not nervous," said the 20-year-old.

The other silver medal came from Mohammad Hafiq Zulkifli in the M02 AT 100m run with a time of 13.48 seconds, missing out on the gold to Thapelo P of Botswana by 0.01s.

Brunei's third silver medal was courtesy of Muhammad Fhadillah Hj Morsidi in the M1 AT 100m walk.

The three remaining bronze medals were won by Abdul Hakim Hj Mohd Ali in the 200m race, Aussurine Hj Adanan in the softball throw female division and Lim Chow Ann in the 100m walk.

The 18-strong national contingent included six officials and was led by head of delegation Noel Mendiola.

The athletes are all pupils of the Special Education Unit, Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam and Pusat Bahagia.

The 13th edition of the meet, it is the world's largest sporting event for athletes with intellectual disabilities, drawing 7,000 athletes from more than 180 countries around the world, 3,000 coaches and officials, 25,000 volunteers, 40,000 family members as well as thousands of spectators, according to its website.

The next Special Olympics World Summer Games will be held in Los Angeles, United States of America, in 2015.

Courtesy from Brunei Times