Rio said farewell to the 2016 Paralympics Sunday in a closing ceremony showcasing Brazil’s passion for music and celebrating what many consider to have been a surprisingly successful Games.
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Brazil has delivered the Olympic and Paralympic Games amidst its political and economic crisis.
Other athletes who shined brightly at their home Games included Felipe Gomes, who helped Brazil to gold in the men’s 4x100m relay T11-13 to add to the silver medals he claimed in the 100m, 200m and 400m events.
There had been fears that this wouldn’t be at all how the Rio Games ended.
Masoud Ashrafi, the secretary general of Iran’s National Paralympic Committee told Press Association Sport: “There is one bitterness and one sweetness”.
“Mission accomplished”, said Carlos Nuzman, president of the Rio Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee.
Kadeena Cox, who won golds in athletics and cycling, will carry the British flag at Sunday’s closing ceremony.
The gap between the Olympic and Paralympic performances is gradually blurring with disabled athletes breaking records after records in Rio.
“I think (they) probably would have gone home maybe disappointed with their performance but first time on a big stage and they showed great potential and have got the opportunity, if they’re looked after and if we can maintain their interest and particularly their training and opportunity over the next four years, they should go well so that was a bright light”.
Philip Craven, the International Paralympic Committee president, said Golbarnezhad’s death “cast a dark shadow”, but overall “Rio 2016 will be remembered as a successful Paralympic Games and a Games that surprised many”.
T13 1500m – the top four finishers of the visually impaired 1500m, won by Algeria’s Abdellatif Baka, were quicker than American Matt Centrowitz when he won Olympic gold a few weeks earlier.
Once more, it was China that dominated overall, with nearly 100 medals more than its nearest rival, Britain, which held a comfortable second place.
By the end of competition on Saturday in Brazil, China had won a total of 237 medals, including 105 gold, compared with the second-place United Kingdom’s total of 147 medals, including 64 gold.
The big country missing in the top section of the standings, however, was Russian Federation, which during the London Games won 102 medals, including 36 golds. The Closing Ceremony is the flawless way to kick off the celebrations for this record breaking team.
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Overall, organizers are breathing a sigh of relief that predictions of failure for South America’s first Olympics and Paralympics were proved wrong.
