Jurenko approached Thursday's last day of tennis competition undefeated in her first two Group 1 women's singles round-robin matches against players from Kazakhstan and Poland and the Leicestershire player enhanced her position as the most successful female Special Olympics tennis payer by beating Germany's Carmen Lelittko with her third straight sets victory of the week.
After winning mixed doubles gold with Jurenko on Wednesday, Clarke also went into his last Group 3 men's singles match unbeaten after his opening two matches against Hungarian and Germany opponents. However, despite putting up a big effort against Monaco's Christophe Mateu, Clarke missed out on the gold medal after Mateu won their match in a deciding third set.
Worcestershire's Adam Hodgson was also a mixed doubles gold medallist on Wednesday, but just missed out on a bronze medal in his Group 5 men's singles event after he was beaten in his final match against Poland's eventual bronze medallist Jaroslaw Ossadnik.
The tennis team's six players and their Nottinghamshire-based coaches Lesley and Matthew Whitehead have been part of a 66-strong Special Olympics Great Britain (SOGB) delegation in Warsaw that includes 46 athletes who have won a total of 88 medals in Warsaw, consisting of 36 gold, 29 silver and 23 bronze medals.
We are delighted with the results,” said GB Head of Delegation Laura Smith from Forfar, Scotland, “but medals are not the most important thing. It is the participation itself that makes the Special Olympics really special. All of them are winners.”
SOGB Director of Sports & Services Andy Heffer commented, “Travelling in a foreign country far from home and loved ones, cheering each other on, proudly wearing the Special Olympics GB uniform, and eating breakfast at 5am in a tent with your breath misting over your plate – these are all great ingredients for camaraderie....”
The Special Olympics European Summer Games comes to an end on Friday with a star-studded Closing Ceremony.
PHOTO: Great Britain's Special Olympics Tennis Team in Warsaw (Photo Credit: John Tisbury)