A summer sporting bonanza which started under pouring rain on July 26 with a remarkable opening ceremony on the Seine River concluded last night with the Paralympics closing at a rain-soaked Stade de France. It lowers the curtain on successful back-to-back events that captivated fans and raised the bar high for others to follow. Good luck Los Angeles in 2028.
As the stadium was lit up in the blue, white and red colours of the French national flag, a trumpet player played the national anthem ‘La Marseillaise’ and Paralympic flag bearers then made their way into the stadium carrying national flags to the sound of ‘Chariots of Fire’ by Vangelis. Later in the evening, famed French electronic music composer Jean-Michel Jarre was to close out the ceremony, which was again led by artistic director Thomas Jolly. His intention this time was to turn the stadium into a giant open-air dance party.
More than 20 DJs, including Étienne de Crécy, Martin Solveig and Kavinsky, were to perform in a tribute to French electro music to the theme ‘Journey of the Wave’. Or the wave goodbye from the 64,000 fans, and the city itself, to the more than 4,000 Paralympic athletes. After the successful Olympics showcased the vibrancy of fans from around the world and the beauty of the city’s iconic venues, there were doubts that the energy would keep going into the Paralympics.
Those doubts were dispelled, with athletes enjoying strong support. Not all venues were sold out, but this was also because the summer holiday period was ending and children were returning to school. A surge of enthusiasm saw 2.
4 million of the 2.8 million tickets sold – second only to the 2.7 million sold at the 2012 London Games – and this was some feat considering that by late June only one million had been sold.
Large swathes of Parisians vacated – some say fled – the city amid concerns over traffic chaos, political upheaval, social tensions and growing fears over security. But locals who stayed or French fans coming in from other towns and cities gave their athletes huge support over both Games. In the Olympics, France tallied 16 golds among its 64 medals to finish fifth overall in the count, and it won 75 medals overall in the Paralympics.
The Games themselves were a success for French President Emmanuel Macron. Transport ran well, there were very few organisational glitches and security issues were appeased, with police even engaging in friendly banter or posing for photos with fans, something of a rarity in France. For how long the feelgood factor endures remains to be seen.
An early indication came on Saturday when thousands took to the streets to protest the president’s appointment of a conservative new prime minister. There were some boos for Macron when he was introduced at the start of the ceremony. Plus ça change, as the French saying goes.
Morocco’s Fatima Ezzahra El Idrissi smashed the world record in the women’s marathon for runners with visual impairments on the last day of the Paralympic Games. El Idrissi finished in 2 hours, 48 minutes, 36 seconds on Sunday, beating the previous record from Japan’s Misato Michishita in Hofu City in December 2020 by nearly six minutes. ‘I wasn’t running for a time, only for a medal,’ the 29-year-old Moroccan said.
After the marathons, spectators paid tribute to Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who died on Thursday after she was set on fire in what police said was an attack by her partner. Cheptegei ran the marathon at the Paris Olympics last month, and an image of her celebrating was shown on a large screen near the finish line as the crowd was asked to observe a minute’s applause in her memory. The announcer referred to Cheptegei as a ‘victim of femicide’.
The Netherlands’ women’s team defended its gold medal in wheelchair basketball with a 63-49 win over the United States in the final. Defending champion Folashade Oluwafemiayo of Nigeria broke her own world record in women’s para powerlifting by bench-pressing 167 kilograms above her chest for another gold in the final for women over 86kg. The 39-year-old Oluwafemiayo beat her previous best mark from Tbilisi in Georgia in June by one kilo by lifting 166 in round three.
Oluwafemiayo then delighted spectators at La Chapelle Arena by adding another kilo to the record in a powerlift. Iran’s Ahmad Aminzadeh won the men’s final for athletes over 107kg with a lift of 263. It was the last gold medal from 549 awarded at the Games.
As another Paralympics draws to a close, Team Ireland will reflect on an excellent tournament, which yielded six medals, one gold, three silver and two bronze. The brilliant para cycling duo of Katie-George Dunlevy and pilot Linda Kelly led the way. The pair blitzed through the Women’s B Individual Time Trial final to seal Ireland’s first goal of the Paralympic Games.
The pair linked up again last Friday in the women’s B road race and finished with silver. Dunlevy and pilot Eve McCrystal secured silver in the Women’s C 3000m Individual Pursuit after the were pipped to first place on the podium by the Great British pair Sophie Unwin and pilot Jenny Holl. For Dunlevy and McCrystal , it was their final ride together after almost 11 years in the saddle.
‘We have gone through some really tough times together,’ Dunlevy noted after their final race together, bringing an end to a brilliant partnership which secured three Paralympic gold medals and six World Championship golds across numerous campaigns. ‘You don’t really go through that with anyone else, so we know what each other has gone through, you know what each other gives and has given, and mentally and emotionally what you are going through together. ‘We have a special bond we will have forever.
Those memories and special moments like today, no one else will know what that feels like except me and Eve.’ In swimming, Róisín Ní Riain is set for a heroes welcome in her hometown of Limerick after she claimed a silver and bronze for Team Ireland in the pool. Orla Comerford kept the momentum going when she stormed through the Women’s 100m T13 final to win Ireland another bronze to cap a brilliant few weeks and an unforgettable time in Paris.
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