Liu Cuiqing of China celebrates wins the women's 200m T11 final at the Tokyo Paralympics, the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, September 4, 2021. /CFP
Team China has finished the Tokyo Paralympics claiming 96 gold, 60 silver and 51 bronze medals, ranking top among all teams for the fifth straight time.
The 207 medal total came from 16 sports, of which swimming and athletics contributed the most: 19 golds, 19 silvers and 19 bronzes in swimming; 27 golds, 13 silvers and 11 bronzes in athletics.
Zheng Tao and Lu Dong both won four swimming championships. Moreover, when Zheng won the won the men's 50m freestyle S5 final on Wednesday, he added the 500th gold medal under Team China since the team's debut at the Paralympic Games in 1984 in New York City in the U.S. and Stoke Mandeville in Britain.
Chinese swimmers also won all medals four times in swimming, watching three Chinese national flags fly at the same time happen as many as four times.
Zheng Tao of China finishes competing in the men's 50m freestyle S5 final at the Tokyo Paralympics, Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo, Japan, September 5, 2021. /CFP
Chinese athletes also dominated table tennis – in which they won 16 golds, more than the total sum of all the athletes left – and wheelchair fencing – Team China won 11 of the 16 titles of this sport.
Chinese players also had five badminton golds when the sport was included in the Paralympics for the first time in Tokyo.
A total of 29 world records were broken by Chinese athletes. Three of the new records went to Zheng. Ma Jia did it twice as she won the women's 50m freestyle S11 final both in the first time and in the rematch.
Of course, gold medal is only one symbol for success – there were other breakthroughs achieved and just as valuable.
Zhang Xuemei of China tries to deflect a shot by Bo Kramer of the Netherlands (#9) in the women's wheelchair basketball final at the Tokyo Paralympics, Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, September 4, 2021. /CFP
For example, Chinese women's wheelchair basketball team made his tory by reaching both the semifinal and the final. More importantly, they beat the USA, one of the world's top teams, twice on their way to the final.
Wang Jiachao made Chinese athletes' first appearance in the men's triathlon event (PTS4) and finished fourth in the competition.
Li Yujie got the bronze medal of the women's taekwondo 58 kg K44 event. That's the first taekwondo medal won by Team China at the Paralympics.
Furthermore, the Paralympics are a competition, but it's about more than that. Human compassion shone everywhere.
L-R: Silver medalist Infante Fernandez of Spain, gold medalist Lu Dong and bronze medalist Cheng Jiao of China pose for pictures after competing in the women's 50m butterfly S5 final at the Tokyo Paralympics, Tokyo Aquatics Centre, August 27, 2021. /CFP
Chinese wheelchair fencer Bian Jing won the women's sabre individual Category A gold medal on August 25. After the medal ceremony, she pushed the wheelchair for the silver medalist Nino Tibilashvili on the way out. It later became clear that Tibilashvili's wheelchair was too heavy to be operated alone.
Swimmer Lu set a new world record of 39.54 seconds winning the women's 50m butterfly S5 final on August 27. The silver and bronze medalists were both on wheelchairs receiving the medals. Lu squatted down between the two while posing for photos together, creating one of the most beautiful scenes of the Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
This is the top stage for Paralympians. Respect and salute to everyone for their spirits.
