ParalympicsGB – fielding 264 athletes in 19 of the 22 sports – finished second on the medal table to China, winning 64 gold medals and 147 in all over 11 days of competition.
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The Ukraine just edged ahead of the USA for third place with 117 medals and 41 golds against the U.S.’s 115 medals and forty golds.
But not for Rio and Brazil.
Organisers said they had pulled off an against the odds success with the Rio Games.
The Paralympics has drawn to a close with a ceremony at the Maracana Stadium that paid tribute to Iranian cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad but also celebrated a Games that beat expectations.
The International Paralympic Committee anthem, played by musicians Daniel Santiago, Pedro Martins and Mestrinho, marked the transition from Rio to Tokyo 2020.
Referring to the political instability and deep recession plaguing Brazil, he conceded that it had been “a mission of many doubts”.
“This year Vanuatu made the decision they felt they did not have an athlete ready to take a wildcard so they rejected the wildcard – they felt it was more important to develop at the grassroots level.it’s a pity they didn’t at least have maybe their developing athlete there to experience and understand what it’s about”.
After being booed in his brief appearance at the opening ceremony, Brazil’s interim President Michel Temer didn’t attend.
President of the International Paralympic Committee Philip Craven passed the Paralympic flag to the governor of Tokyo.
Craven warned Sunday that “major change” will be needed from Russian Federation to be allowed back into Paralympic competition.
“The media owes them headlines as they performed so well but with much less coverage than during the Olympics”, a netizen named Shixiaokaiya said. Brazilian fans came out full force to the Games, purchasing 2.2 million tickets to cheer athletes, who set 209 world records.
121 – Kare Adenegan, a 15-year-old Coventry schoolgirl, finished with bronze behind team-mate Hannah Cockroft in the T34 800m, claiming the medal which took Britain beyond the total of four years earlier in London.
Jo Gi-seong became the first Korean swimmer to win three gold medals at a single Paralympics on Sunday when he won the men’s 50-m freestyle final, adding to his victories in the 100-m and 200-m freestyle finals. However, Centrowitz won in what was by Olympic standards a near-record slow race, meaning Baka’s outstanding time was of mostly symbolic significance. The tally was 33 medals more than during the previous games held in London.
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Dame Sarah Storey won Gold medals in the Women’s C4-5 road race and the Women’s time trial C5, as well as Gold in the C5 3000m individual pursuit, in which Britain’s Crystal Lane achieved Silver.
