Rio 2016: Paralympics come to an end with festive closing ceremony

Updated

Rio de Janeiro has closed the first Paralympics on South American soil in a blaze of fireworks and Samba for what will be remembered as the people's Games.

The closing ceremony took place at Rio's famed Maracana stadium on Monday (AEST), with festivities highlighted by a giant conga-line of athletes snaking its way around to the cheers of thousands of fans, who danced in the stands to Brazilian funk music.

Retiring Australian co-captain Kurt Fearnley took centre stage as his election to the International Paralympic Committee Athletes' Council was announced.

Fearnley had ended his Paralympics career earlier in the day, with the wheelchair racing veteran finishing second in the men's marathon, missing out on a fairytale gold-medal finish by one second.

Curtis McGrath, who won gold in the KL3 canoe sprint last week, was given the honour of carrying the Australian flag into the stadium, while Ricardinho, who scored the winning goal for Brazil in the five-a-side football final, did the same for the host nation.

After being booed in his brief appearance at the opening ceremony, Brazil's interim President Michel Temer did not attend.

And Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike took the Paralympic flag in a symbolic handover to the next host city.

A minute's silence was observed to mark the death of Iranian para-cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad in the men's road race, the first tragedy of its kind in Paralympic Games history.

It overshadowed a Paralympics that dealt with both a funding and doping crisis to be a success, saving the Games experience for the Brazilian public after the scandal-marred Olympics.

Four weeks ago ticket sales stood at 12 per cent, but a late surge made Rio the second-best attended Games in history, behind London with 2.1 million tickets sold.

Affordable prices for a recession-battered country and the #FillTheSeats social media campaign to buy tickets for local disadvantaged children that even Prince Harry got behind has made Rio a Paralympics for the people.

Organisers shrugged off a doping controversy that left Russia banned from competition on the eve of the Games, and last minute private sponsors also ensured the cash-strapped event could go ahead.

Australia achieves another top-five finish

Snapping up 22 gold medals, 30 silver and 29 bronze, Australia has now achieved a top five finish at every Games since Barcelona 1992.

Australia's gold medal effort was fifth behind China's tally of 107, Great Britain's 64 gold medals, Ukraine's 41 and USA's 40.

Fearnley was not the only Australian athlete to be making their Paralympics farewell, with Evan O'Hanlon hanging up his spikes after he was denied a hat-trick of sprint gold medals.

O'Hanlon passed the baton on to young bucks like Scott Reardon, Isis Holt and James Turner.

Teenagers carved up the Rio pool, with rookies Tiffany Thomas Kane and Lakeisha Patterson and 17-year-old London Paralympian Maddison Elliot all clinching gold.

Wheelchair tennis star Dylan Alcott became one of a handful of Australians to win gold medals in two sports after switching from wheelchair basketball.

And sport-hopping para-cyclist Jessica Gallagher became Australia's first athlete to win a medal at both a summer and winter Games.

Australia's men's wheelchair rugby team extended their golden Paralympic reign when they beat world number one America by a single point, 59-58, in a double overtime thriller final.

The Steelers flew the flag for team sports after the Rollers, the widely fancied men's wheelchair basketball team, crashed out in a shock quarter-final loss to Great Britain.

Australia won gold medals in the Games' two debut sports para-canoe and para-triathlon, and took the final two titles in sailing's Paralympics farewell.

Legally blind Katie Kelly and her sighted guide and Sydney 2000 Olympics silver medallist, Michellie Jones, teamed up to take victory in the inaugural women's para-triathlon on Rio's iconic Copacabana beach.

Veteran sailors Liesl Tesch and Dan Fitzgibbon became the first sailors to win back-to-back gold medals and sonar trio Russell Boaden, Jonathan Harris and Colin Harrison also secured a final victory before the sport is dropped from the Paralympics program ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Games.

AAP/ABC

Topics: paralympics, sport, brazil

First posted </s> RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL -- (Marketwired) -- 09/18/16 -- As the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games draw to a close this evening, and our athletes enter the stadium with Aurelie Rivard (St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC) proudly carrying our flag, I join more than 35 million Canadians in congratulating all the members of Team Canada on their accomplishments and contributions to sport.

Over the past 11 days, Team Canada has personified the Paralympic values of courage, determination, inspiration and equality. They have represented Canada with integrity and passion. They have shown us unforgettable moments of perseverance and triumph.

Every athlete who qualified for the Canadian Paralympic Team did so with some help. Our Government is proud to support our Paralympic athletes, and we stand with their coaches, support staff, families, friends and communities to help them on their journey.

Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on the Closing of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games

Contacts:

Ashley Michnowski

Press Secretary

Office of the Honourable Carla Qualtrough

Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities

613-697-8016

ashley.michnowski@canada.ca </s> More than 4,000 para-athletes are in Rio for the 2016 Paralympic Games - the first time this event has been held in Latin America.

While sport takes centre-stage for the fortnight, organisers are hoping the Games will also serve as a catalyst for social change in Rio.

Beach for Everyone, a project launched 10 years ago, aims to provide safe access to the beaches for the physically handicapped.

It's co-founder, Ricardo Gonzalez, is optimistic about the effect the Games will have on people's attitudes.

"The Paralympic Games will touch the sensibility of the people," Gonzalez told Al Jazeera.

"To see that people with a disability can do everything, this attitude has to be stimulated. So the Paralympic Games is a great moment."

READ MORE: Rio revamped in run-up to Olympics

Accessibility still remains an issue in Rio with road crossings, public buildings and tourist sites built without giving the disabled much consideration.

"It's getting better, but so many things are made with no thought," said Brazilian para-triathlete Edson Rocha Nascimento.

"Public transportation, for example roads, buses and the metro, are very difficult to access if you are in a wheelchair."

Large amounts of public funds are diverted to building stadiums and broadcasting the Games. But disability expert Ahmed Habib hopes the brief spotlight on disability is worth the huge price tag attached.

"All we can hope is that people are watching the Paralympics at home and they start conversations with their families and their colleagues and realise that their perceptions about disabled people have been wrong all along the way," said Habib. </s> Members of the delegation of Greece enjoy themselves during the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, late on Wednesday. Greece’s Paralympic team comprises 59 athletes – 43 men and 16 women – who are to compete in a total of 12 sports: wheelchair tennis, weight lifting, sailing, swimming, boccia, wheelchair fencing, cycling, shooting, track events, judo, archery and paracanoeing. The Rio Paralympics started on Thursday with swimming, track events and track cycling. They are to run through September 18. [Mauro Pimentel/AP] </s> RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach will not attend any of the Paralympic Games which start in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said.

"He is no longer attending at all and we fully understand how difficult it can be to reschedule a busy diary," said Craig Spence, the IPC's Director of media and communications.

The opening ceremony will be held on Wednesday and the Games run from Sept. 7-18. (Reporting by Andrew Downie) </s> The XV Paralympic Games opens at the Maracana Stadium with a carnival atmosphere

The After Party has begun. The XV Paralympic Games in Rio opened at the Maracana Stadium with a carnival atmosphere on Wednesday.

Seventeen days after the Olympics closed, with the Paralympics embroiled in the worst build-up in its 56-year history, Brazil belatedly got into the Paralympic mood.

London 2012 was declared a triumph of the human spirit; Paralympic competitors considered sports stars first and foremost.

It was hoped to be a watershed moment for the Paralympic movement. But the incompetence of Rio's organising committee - using Paralympic funds as contingency for the Olympics - left the Games feeling like an afterthought.

Despite the slow uptake of tickets, 1459 days since the London Paralympics closed on September 9, 2012, the 78,000-seat Maracana was full on Brazil's Independence Day.

Paralympians describe the Olympics as the warm-up; their own inspiring festival as the After Party.

And Rio, Brazil and the world must prepare to be amazed over the next 11 days.

More than 4300 athletes from 159 nations, plus two refugees in an independent team, are prepared to perform to the peak of their physical capabilities and change perceptions of what is possible.

It is the biggest Paralympics yet - in terms of athletes participating - and the greatest performances are expected to take place in Rio.

Remember the names. Brazilians will cheer swimmer Daniel Dias, athletes Alan Oliveira and Terezinha Guilhermina.

American Tatyana McFadden will go for seven gold medals and others will emerge.

In Britain alone there is wheelchair racer David Weir, swimmers Ellie Simmonds and Ollie Hynd and cyclist Dame Sarah Storey, who will bid to surpass Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson as the British female with the most Paralympic gold medals on Thursday's opening day.

Lee Pearson led ParalympicsGB into the arena as part of a show with a central theme of "Everybody has a heart".

The 10-time equestrian gold medallist was chosen by his 263 fellow athletes, who are aiming to surpass their London 2012 total by winning 121 medals over 11 days of competition.

Second place on the medal table - behind China - is also the target. Russia's absence helps.

With its stance in the wake of revelations of state-sponsored doping in Russia, the International Paralympic Committee and its president Sir Philip Craven showed the leadership and stance the International Olympic Committee did not. Principled. Honest. And spirited. </s> RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach will not attend any of the Paralympic Games starting in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said.

Bach had already said he would miss Wednesday's opening ceremony to remain in Germany for the funeral of his friend Walter Scheel, the former West German foreign minister and deputy chancellor who died last month aged 97.

But officials said he was now unable to reschedule other commitments and will be unable to travel to Brazil after the funeral.

"President Bach was planning to attend the Opening Ceremony and first day of competition but can no longer attend due to a State funeral in Germany," Craig Spence, the IPC's Director of media and communications, said in a statement.

"We fully understand that he cannot reschedule other long standing engagements to attend the Games here at a later date. The IOC is the IPC's number one strategic partner and we thank them, and President Bach, for their continued support."

The IPC did not say what the long-standing engagements were.

"The fact that he can't come is unfortunately a fact of life and shows how busy these presidents and officials are," Spence told Reuters in a telephone call. "We don't see it as a snub at all."

Rio was awarded the right to host the 2016 Olympic Games and Paralympics in 2009.

The opening ceremony will be held at the Maracana stadium on Wednesday night and the Games run from Sept. 7-18. (Reporting by Andrew Downie, editing by Ed Osmond) </s> The opening ceremony of All-Russian Paralympic Sports Competitions took place in Moscow on September 7. Minister for Sport Vitaly Mutko and head of the Russian Paralympic Committee Vladimir Lukin took part in the ceremony, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta wrote.

"Today's gala event is a tribute to our Paralympians, whose hard work and courage, belief in themselves and their capabilities serve as an inspiring example to all," Vitaly Mutko said, reading Vladimir Putin's address to the Paralympic athletes.

"The Russian team is one of the strongest teams in the world, and I am confident that you will demonstrate your skills, persistence, dedication and determination to victory," the president's address to the Russian athletes said.

Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko expressed his regret about the fact that the Russian Paralympic athletes were suspended from the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "I am sure that these are temporary difficulties, and Russia will soon return to the great Paralympic family - the work on that will be done quickly. The winners will receive the same prizes and awards that they would receive in Rio. We will do our best to develop our Paralympic movement," said Vitaly Mutko.

The head of the Russian Paralympic Committee Vladimir Lukin, said: "It is a pity our athletes are not together with their brothers in spirit. Sport unites athletes from all countries, irrespective of political games and solutions," the official said.

Later, Sport Minister Vitaly Mutko told reporters that he was feeling guilty for the fact that the Russian athletes were excluded from the Paralympic Games in Rio. "We feel guilty and responsible, - said Mutko. - In this situation it is very difficult to say something, because it was all very strange. The court's decision did not have any grounds."

President Putin initiated the organization of the competitions for Russian Paralympic athletes after they were barred from participating in the Paralympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. The All-Russian Paralympic Sports Competitions will take place on September 8-9 on major sports venues in the Moscow region. As many as 263 athletes will perform in 18 disciplines.

Read article on the Russian version of Pravda.Ru </s> The best images from the first day’s action of the Paralympic Games in Rio
The 2016 Summer Paralympic Games close in Rio de Janeiro.