Paralympic Games end with Parisian Electro-Dance Party after 2 world records on final day

PARIS (AP) — The Paralympic Games ended Sunday with two world records and a spectacular light show during a closing ceremony dominated by French electronic music.

Jean-Michel Jarre kicked off the celebrations at the Stade de France, getting athletes, volunteers and spectators dancing on a day when Morocco’s Fatima Ezzahra El Idrissi broke the world record in the women’s marathon with a visual impairment and Nigeria’s Folashade Oluwafemiayo broke her own world record in the women’s para-powerlifting event.

El Idrissi completed the 42-kilometer course in 2 hours, 48 ​​minutes and 36 seconds, beating the previous record, set by Japan’s Misato Michishita in Hofu City in December 2020, by almost six minutes.

“I didn’t do it for a specific time, but just for a medal,” said the 29-year-old Moroccan.

Fellow countryman Meryem En-Nourhi was more than nine minutes behind, followed by Michishita, who was almost fifteen minutes behind the winner.

Elena Congost thought she had won bronze, but the Spanish runner was later disqualified for untying the line of her guide, Mia Carol Bruguera, before the finish.

Michishita only discovered she had been awarded bronze when she was on her way to the doping control.

Tunisian Wajdi Boukhili won the men’s T12 marathon in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 5 seconds.

Swiss wheelchair racers Catherine Debrunner and Marcel Hug won the women’s and men’s marathon in the T53/54 categories.

Tatyana McFadden, the most decorated American wheelchair racer, finished seventh in the women’s race, just over 12 minutes behind Debrunner. The 35-year-old leaves Paris with a silver medal in the 100 and bronze in the 4×100 universal relay.

British wheelchair racer David Weir has announced his retirement from the Paralympic Games at the age of 45 after finishing fifth in the men’s event.

Weir won six gold medals at the Paralympics, including four at the London 2012 Olympics, when he won the marathon. He has since gone three Games without a medal.

Weir said he will still compete in individual races, including the Berlin Marathon on September 29.

Tribute to murdered runner Rebecca Cheptegei

After the marathons, spectators paid tribute to Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who died on Thursday after she was set on fire in what police said was an attack by her partner.

Cheptegei ran the marathon at the Paris Olympics last month, and an image of her running was shown on a large screen at the finish line on Sunday, as the crowd was asked to applaud for a minute in her memory. The announcer called Cheptegei a “victim of femicide.”

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said Friday that the city wants to honor Cheptegei by naming a sports venue after her.

Dutch women defend gold in wheelchair basketball

The Dutch women’s team defended their gold medal in wheelchair basketball by beating the United States 63-49 in the final.

Bo Kramer provided 23 points and Mariska Beijer 22 points, as the Dutch showed their experience to an appreciative audience in a packed Bercy Arena.

Trailing 48-37 in the fourth quarter, the U.S. players held hands as they listened to coach Christina Schwab’s team talk. Ixhelt Gonzalez boosted their hopes with 2 points on a break, but Kramer responded with two free throws and then a 3-point shot to underscore Dutch control.

“For us as a team, I don’t really feel like we’ve been at our peak yet,” said Rose Hollermann, who scored 17 points for the U.S. “I think we’ve got a lot left in the tank. I never felt like we got into that groove as a team, so I’m really proud that we ended up with the silver medal.”

The 28-year-old Hollermann was already looking forward to it.

“There’s a lot more left for us and I think that’s a great feeling for us as a team, that we can take that and get back to work,” she said.

Canada lost to China 65-43 earlier in the bronze medal match.

“I want to go back two hours. I want to start that game over again,” said Canadian coach Michele Sung.

Another world record in powerlifting

Defending champion Oluwafemiayo twice improved her own world record in women’s para powerlifting by bench pressing 167 kilograms above her chest, which earned her another gold medal in the women’s over 86 kilogram final.

The 39-year-old Oluwafemiayo improved her previous record set in Tbilisi, Georgia in June by one kilo by lifting 166 in round three. Oluwafemiayo then thrilled the crowd at La Chapelle Arena by adding another kilo to the powerlifting record.

Iran’s Ahmad Aminzadeh won the men’s final for athletes over 107 kg with a lift of 263. It was the last gold medal of the 549 awarded at the Games.

China dominates

China won almost twice as many gold medals (94 to Great Britain’s 49) as any other country at the Paris Paralympic Games.

In total, China won 220 medals (94 gold, 76 silver and 50 bronze), compared to 124 for Great Britain, followed by 105 for the US. Great Britain took home a total of 44 silver and 31 bronze medals, while the US finished with 36 gold, 42 silver and 27 bronze medals.

Brazilian athletes won 89 medals, but Dutch athletes won more gold: 27 compared to 25 for Brazil.

Host nation France finished eighth in the medal table, with 19 gold medals out of a total of 75.