Breaking down barriers, the Paris Paralympic Games close.
Amid a festive atmosphere of lights and music, the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games came to a close on the evening of 9th of September, honoring the para-athletes who amazed audiences with their remarkable performances over the past 11 days.
Athletes and accompanying staff from nearly 170 National Paralympic Committees, including the Paralympic Refugee Team and China Paralympic athletes, participated in the closing ceremony at Stade de France, alongside 64,000 spectators.
At the closing ceremony, Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee, urged the audience to stand and offer para-athletes the “loudest, craziest, and longest” ovation.
“Every time you competed, more people joined the party. Every time you succeeded, the intensity grew…You changed how people see sport and how they see disability,” Estanguet said.
“You have launched this Paralympic revolution, and now there is no turning back,” he added.
Besides, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons declared the official closing of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, delivering a speech focused on “inclusion.”
“The best Paralympic legacies are the ones that continue post-Games,” Parsons noted.
“Beyond 12 days of sport, we must break down the barriers that exist in society. We must enable and empower persons with disabilities to excel outside of the field of play, in education, in employment, in entertainment, in government, in civil society – everywhere!”
Jiang Yuyan, who carried the flag for the China Paralympic athletes, emerged as the most decorated athlete of the Games, winning seven gold medals and setting two world records in para swimming. And her fellow athlete, Di Dongdong, won gold and set a world record in the men’s long jump – T11 event in para athletics.
It also introduced the six newly elected members of the IPC Athletes’ Council, including Chinese disabled weightlifter Tan Yujiao. Particularly, she was elected by her peers from among the 1,800 athletes participating in this Paralympic Games.
Afterwards, a stunning breakdance performance symbolizing the power of inclusion, Paris’ mayor Anne Hidalgo lowered the Paralympic flag and handed to Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass, as attention shifted to the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
A para athlete carried the Paralympic flame into the stadium, where it was ceremoniously extinguished after a brief relay. Meanwhile, the cauldron above the Jardin des Tuileries was also extinguished.
As the Games officially concluded, the celebrations began in earnest. To the beats of France’s top DJs, people with and without disabilities danced together. It was turning the final night of the Games into a joyful celebration of inclusion.
On the whole, the Chinese delegation reaffirmed its dominance in swimming, athletics, table tennis, fencing and badminton. China secured 22 gold medals in swimming and 21 in athletics.
China ended with 94 gold medals, topping the medal table. Coming in second was Great Britain with 49.
Paralympic pool prodigy Guo Jincheng, who is easily recognizable with his shaved head and no swimming cap, competed in nine events, bringing home four gold and two silver medals.
Specifically, in the mixed 4x50m medley relay 20 points final, Guo’s powerful leg kicks — described as “turbocharged motors” by the media — propelled him to the finish line, helping Team China break the world record and claim gold.
“Even though I was exhausted, my teammates entrusted me with the final leg. And I didn’t want to let them down. I just wanted to give it my all,” Guo said.
“There are no shortcuts to improving performance… It takes persistent training, day in and day out. You have to keep pushing your boundaries and becoming your own hero,” he added.
The Chinese badminton team didn’t disappoint fans either. They won nine gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal. China finished on the top of the chart.
Badminton made its Paralympic debut at the Tokyo Games in 2020, when the Chinese team won five gold, three silver and two bronze medals.
Zhang Xianming, coach of the team, said that Tokyo provided valuable competition experience. “We’ve since focused on analyzing events more closely and adjusting our training plans accordingly, which has helped us achieve even better results in Paris.”
Beyond the competition, Paralympic athletes gave plenty of moments that encapsulate the paraplymic spirit.
After receiving her gold medal, China Paralympic athlete Cui Zhe helped wheelchair-bound first runner-up Esther Nworgu of Nigeria get off the stage. Meanwhile, Chinese powerlifting champion in the 67-kilogram weight category Tan Yujiao shared a heartwarming moment on the podium. She kissed the cheeks of her fellow medalists from Egypt and Brazil.
After the women’s 200m T36 final, China paralympic athlete Shi Yiting and New Zealand’s Danielle Aitchison embraced warmly, celebrating each other’s success in respectively clinching gold and silver.
“I lost directions completely after crossing the finish line and collapsed on Danielle. She was nearby.” Shi said. “I might have rested there for a minute, and I faintly heard her congratulating me.”
Moments later, as reporters were interviewing Shi, Aitchison gave her another warm hug as he passed by.
Despite winning this event at both Rio 2016 and Tokyo, Shi acknowledged Aitchison’s rapid improvement. “I lost to Danielle in May. She has since broken the world record with a time of 27.47 seconds,” Shi said. “I knew that to win, I had to give everything I had. We might be rivals on the track, but off it, we have a strong friendship. No matter who wins, the other is always genuinely happy,” Shi added.
Written by Yi Shen, additional reporting by Xinhua and China Daily
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