Athletes Celebrate their Achievements at Paris Games; Vow to Give Another Good Show in 2028

By Ichiro Hatae and Kohei Tsukamoto / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

16:48 JST, September 9, 2024

SAINT-DENIS, France — The Paris Paralympic Games that generated excitement and emotion around the world ended Sunday with a closing ceremony in Saint-Denis, France, where athletes enjoyed the colorful show in a relaxed atmosphere. They vowed to give another great performance at the Paralympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

The ceremony started in the rain at the Stade de France near Paris at 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

The stadium was lit up in the tricolore’s blue, white and red, and flag bearers representing countries and regions walked into stadium with “Au Champs Elysees” playing in the background. Table tennis player Natsuki Wada, 21, and swimmer Keiichi Kimura, 33 joined the parade. Wada, who won gold in the women’s singles event in her debut Paralympic appearance, held the Japanese flag.

“I’m happy to have won the gold medal that I had been dreaming of. I want to keep working hard to achieve my next goal,” she said.

Kimura, who earned gold in both the men’s 100-meter butterfly and the 50-meter freestyle in the S11 visual impairment class, walked with a hand on Wada’s shoulder and enthusiastically waved to the audience.

“I am more than happy to be able to celebrate the closing of the Games with the strongest athletes I have ever met,” Kimura said.

Keiko Sugiura, 53, who won gold in the women’s cycling road race C1-3 physical impairment class — renewing her own record as the oldest Japanese person to win a Paralympic gold medal　— said she was able to play on “a very glamorous stage.”

“Merci Paris!” Sugiura said.

“It was a happy time for me to be able to perform on the great stage,” said Uchu Tomita, 35, who earned bronze in both the men’s 400-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly in the S11 vision impairment category.