Tokyo yesterday bid a spectacular farewell to the Paralympics, as organizers hailed the COVID-19-pandemic-delayed Games as the “most important edition” ever.
Fifteen gold medals were awarded on the final day of action, bringing the curtain down on a competition which saw a record 86 teams win medals and 62 claim at least one gold.
China finished on top of the medal table with 207, including 96 golds, followed by Britain, the United States and the Russian team.
Photo: AFP
Taiwan’s Tien Shiau-wen won the nation’s only medal at the Games: a bronze in the women’s singles class 10 table tennis on Saturday last week.
With the sporting action over, attention turned toward the closing ceremony at the Olympic Stadium, where the Games opened 12 days earlier with howling guitars and neon-streaked performers.
A total of 163 delegations — one fewer than the London 2012 record — were represented, although not all teams attended in person.
Photo: EPA-EFE
International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons said the high turnout in Tokyo was proof that “the Paralympic movement is stronger than ever before.”
“I don’t have any doubts that this was the most important edition of the Paralympic Games, because of the pandemic, because we gave a voice to 1.2 billion persons with disability,” he said.
The athletes competing in Tokyo included two from Afghanistan, who made a dramatic arrival with the Games already in progress after being evacuated from Kabul.
Photo: Reuters
Taekwondo athlete Zakia Khudadadi and sprinter Hossain Rasouli, who competed in long jump, carried the Afghan flag into the stadium for the closing ceremony.
At the opening ceremony, the flag was featured in symbolic fashion, carried by a Japanese volunteer.
The day’s sporting action began with the early morning marathon events, with Swiss wheelchair master Marcel Hug defending his T54 crown.
“Silver Bullet” Hug opened up an early gap on the field, and moved away from silver medalist Zhang Yong over the last two uphill kilometers.
“I don’t know how to feel. I’m just tired. Empty,” said Hug, who won the sixth Paralympic gold of his career in a time of 1 hour, 24 minutes, 2 seconds.
In the women’s T54 marathon, Australian Madison de Rozario clung on to finish ahead of Swiss great Manuela Schaer, winning the gold by just one second.
“That was the longest 500m of my life,” De Rozario told reporters after finishing in a Paralympic record of 1:38.11.
“That finish line couldn’t have come quick enough,” she added.
Organizers had urged local residents to stay home and watch the action on TV, but sweet shop owner Atsushi Nishimura said that he was glad he saw it live in in Tokyo’s Asakusa District.
“We could have enjoyed the Olympics and Paralympics differently if they weren’t during a pandemic, but I think it was good for us that we could host the events,” he said.
Elsewhere, the US beat China 3-1 to take gold in women’s sitting volleyball, with the two teams meeting in the final for the fourth-straight Games.
The Americans had ended China’s run of three consecutive golds five years ago in Rio, and they had the upper hand again after establishing an early two-set lead.
The US also claimed gold in men’s wheelchair basketball, beating Japan 64-60 after a fourth-quarter comeback.
In shooting, Slovakian Veronika Vadovicova won the mixed 50m rifle prone SH1 final, edging out Sweden’s Anna Normann and Spain’s Juan Antonio Saavedra Reinaldo.
Badminton, which made its Paralympic debut in Tokyo, finished with seven gold medals awarded, with Japan and China dominating on the final day.
Taiwan’s Fang Jen-yu pushed through to the bronze-medal match in the men’s singles SU5 event, but ultimately fell to world No. 3 Suryo Nugroho of Indonesia.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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