LEE AND JO'S DEAFLYMPIC GOLD DOUBLE

The leading scorer in the competition struck with the last action of the Final itself on Sunday to destroy the hopes of opponents and surprise package Iran, who had equalised in the 85th minute.

Farrell, the East Preston FC striker, was at the Melbourne Games in Australia along with Worthing Harrier Jo Davison, who nine days earlier won the women's hammer at the age of 40. Both have thus come home with gold.

It had been Farrell's goal in October that took EP their furthest in the FA Cup when they beat Uxbridge to reach the third qualifying round. He was the only player in the Great Britain team to play for a non-deaf adult team.

He is used to having instructions, game plans and moves written down for him in diagrams. Deaf football, as played by the 46 teams qualifying for the last 16 who reached Melbourne, has the referee using a flag as well as a whistle to control the match.

Farrell's goals swept Great Britain to a victory that was their first in the Deaflympics since 1989. They had failed to set the subsequent tournaments alight and the team had aged.

The new, much younger squad was now captained by defender Nick Beeze one of four representatives from Fulham Deaf FC.

Farrell was one of only two players from south of London in the squad of 20. The other, Richard Parker, one of the two goalkeepers, comes from Banstead although he plays for Midlands club, Black Country Deaf.

There was one Welshman, two Scots, including striker Steve Gardiner, and Doncaster College for the Deaf had the largest contingent in th squad, with seven.

Jo Davison, in unhelpful conditions, had won the hammer with a distance of 41.60 metres. She had gone to Melbourne aiming to take the world record of 45.43m.

In reaction to her becoming the world deaf hammer throwing champion, Goring Road Runners faxed this message for us to print: "Congratulations, Jo. Magnificent result. Well Done. Now go for the world record."