On the evening of September 9, the XIV Summer Paralympic Games 2012 in London ended with a solemn ceremony. Starting August 29, disabled athletes from 164 countries competed for the title of the best.
The next Paralympic Games are over, and international experts are already calling them the most ambitious competitions in the entire long history of the Paralympic movement. This is no coincidence, because 4294 athletes fought for victory in the competitions that took place in the capital of England. Medals were awarded in 503 different sports. And this fact speaks of the undoubted progress of this kind of competition for people with disabilities.
And yet, the results of any competition are judged not by their mass character, but by the number of medals won by certain countries. Everyone calls athletes from China the absolute heroes of the XIV Summer Paralympic Games. They received 95 gold medals, just a little short of the highest awards to the impressive 100. This is an indisputable victory, because even the Russians have almost three times less gold in the end. And as with the rest of the participants in the Games, the Chinese should not be compared.
The sports community is seriously considering that at the next Paralympics, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Chinese athletes may well surpass the American team. As you know, in 1984 she won 137 awards of the highest standard for her country.
As for the Russians, in a tense and stubborn struggle, 182 team members received 102 medals. Of these, 36 gold awards, 38 silver and 28 bronze medals. And in the team event, the Russian Paralympians took the honorable second place. These are excellent results, because in the entire history of the Games, our team has never performed so successfully. The best result before that - 21 "gold" in 1988, 63 awards in 2008 and eighth in the table in 1992.
But the hosts of the XIV Summer Paralympics, the British, moved down from the second row of the medals table to the third. For them, in contrast to the Russian Paralympians, the athletes of the main Olympic team performed more confidently. But the Paralympians have lost the advantage gained in the past in swimming and cycling.
In fourth place is the Ukrainian team, as in the previous Games. The fifth was left for the Australians, the American athletes dropped to the sixth. Well, as always after the next Olympics, someone has a reason to improve, and someone will try to maintain the won positions.
The spectators received a breathtaking spectacle of struggle, overcoming, fortitude. And the Games ended with the "Festival of Lights" at the Stafford stadium. International Paralympic Committee President Philip Craven announced the end of the Paralympics. The Games flag was solemnly handed over to the representatives of the next Paralympic capital - Rio de Janeiro. English musicians, singers Rihanna and Jay Z performed before the audience.
