The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games were packed with memorable moments, including athletic feats and historic firsts, that took place at stunning venues in front of a vocal crowd.
We will share three moments from each sport that made the Games very special.
Top moment
Japan captured their first Paralympic gold medal in wheelchair rugby after beating the USA 48-41 in the final at the Champ-de-Mars Arena on 2 September. Katsuya Hashimoto led the scoreboard with 19 tries, with captain Yukinobu Ike crossing the line 16 times.
Katsuya Hashimoto was Japan’s top-scorer in the gold medal match. @Alex Davidson/Getty Images
At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, Japan finished with a “disappointing” bronze medal. They played at a home Games as the reigning world champion but lost in the semifinals.
That made the victory even more special, Ike said.
“The moment I got the gold medal, everything I had gone through in the past, I did not regret anything. I thought everything I had gone through, they were all wonderful and great,” the captain said.
“I was able to play at the best place, perform at the best and achieve the best results. It was the best moment that an athlete can ever ask for.”
The USA took silver for the third straight Games. Chuck Aoki and Sarah Adam led the scoring for the USA with 14 tries each.
The USA’s Chuck Aoki now has four Paralympic wheelchair rugby medals, three silver and one bronze © Alex Davidson/Getty Images
Biggest surprise
Japan reached the final for the first time after beating two-time Paralympic champions Australia in overtime. Australia secured their place on the podium the next day with a 50-48 victory over defending champions Great Britain in the bronze medal match.
Australia took bronze by beating defending Paralympic champions Great Britain. @Adrian Dennis/OIS
“It feels amazing. It was so disheartening yesterday when we battled out of the semi-final in the way we did, the fact that we had the game in our hands and we lost. It went to overtime, and then we lost the jump and felt a bit empty last night,” Australia captain Chris Bond said after the bronze medal match.
“But we told the team to just let that sink in, use that as fuel for motivation today, we still have one game to play and we always wanted to finish on top and get a win.
“Two thirds of our team coming in had never received a Paralympic medal before and now they’re Paralympic medallists.”
Home hero
France finished fifth, upgrading their sixth-place finish from Tokyo 2020. The home team beat Canada 53-50 in their last game, feeding off the energy of the home crowd.
France finished the Paris 2024 Paralympics with a win. @Adrian Dennis/OIS
That is how captain Jonathan Hivernat said he wanted to finish his third Paralympic Games.
“We want it with all our hearts, in front of the whole of France and the French people. We want to finish in a good position because it would mean that we are amongst the big nations, so we will go in search of fifth place,” he said after France’s 50-49 defeat to Great Britain in the group stage.
“It will be really important to us, for the future, to finish the Paralympic Games well.”
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source link
