Paralympics end with glittering closing ceremony
Elena Krawzow and Maurice Schmidt led the German team into the Stade de France.
Paris (dpa) – For eleven days, Paralympics contenders from all over the world competed for gold medals in and around Paris. Now the 17th Paralympics has been brought to a conclusion with a big celebration at the Stade de France. “These Games we all shared in were about sporting achievements and about records,” said the head of the organising committee Tony Estanguet. Addressing the athletes, he said: “You’re the ones who set this Paralympic revolution in motion – there’s no turning back now.” The venue for the next Paralympics in 2028 is Los Angeles.
The German flag was carried into the Stade de France at the closing ceremony by swimmer Elena Krawzow and wheelchair fencer Maurice Schmidt. They both won gold in Paris. Athletes from around 170 delegations took part in the closing ceremony, watched by 64,000 spectators. All in all, athletes of the German Disabled Sports Federation won ten gold medals, 14 silver medals and 25 bronze medals. The German team finished eleventh in the medal table.