Gibraltar athletes return from Sweden with seven medals

Gibraltar’s seven-athlete team return this coming Monday from the Special Olympics Sweden Invitational Games 2026 with an impressive haul of seven individual medals and a further relay medal, following three days of competition in Malmö.
The Games, held from September 4 to 6, brought together up to 2,000 athletes and participants from Sweden and 25 other countries across 11 sports. Gibraltar was represented in athletics and golf, with the squad producing a series of strong performances against international competition.
In the athletics events, Alexandra Perera claimed gold in the 50 metres before adding a silver medal in the 100m. Hannah Colton also secured two silver medals, finishing runner-up in both the 50m and 100m.
Daniella Vinent took bronze in the 50m and narrowly missed out on a medal in the 100m, finishing fourth.
There was further success for the Dos Santos siblings. Mark Dos Santos won silver in the 100m before going one better in the 200m, taking gold. Jessie Dos Santos also struck gold in the 100m, while claiming bronze in the 200m.
Max Desoiza added another bronze to Gibraltar’s medal tally in the 200m and finished fourth in the 400m.
The four athletes—Daniella Vinent, Max Desoiza, Jessie Dos Santos and Hannah Colton—then combined in the mixed relay, where they secured a bronze medal for Gibraltar.
There was also success in the golf competition, with Julian De Las Heras claiming bronze in the nine-hole tournament. His medal came after a closely fought final day in which he finished just one stroke short of the leading position.
The performances continue Special Olympics Gibraltar’s long-standing record of representing the Rock on the international stage, with athletes having built up a considerable list of achievements at Special Olympics events over the years.
The Sweden Invitational Games were described by organisers as the largest sporting event for people with intellectual disabilities ever held in Sweden, with competition taking place at venues across Malmö, including athletics at Heleneholms IP and golf at Malmö Burlöv Golf Club in Segevång.