Friendships forged in gold at Paris Paralympics

From Athens 2004 to Paris 2024, China's Paralympic delegation has maintained its dominance in six consecutive Summer Games, winning the highest number of gold medals each time and retaining the top spot in the overall medal tally.

As the flame of this summer's Paralympic Games flickered out on Sunday in the French capital, signaling the end of more than 10 days of intense competition, Team China concluded its campaign with 94 gold, 76 silver and 50 bronze medals, setting multiple world records across sports including swimming, athletics and cycling.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council sent a congratulatory message to the Chinese Paralympic delegation for its outstanding performance in Paris.

Team China's performance was hailed as a "dual success" in both competition and sportsmanship, bringing honor to the nation. The message conveyed heartfelt congratulations and warm regards from the Party and the government.

On the field, Chinese athletes demonstrated exceptional strength and determination, while off the field, they carried themselves with confidence and grace.

At the closing ceremony, swimmer Jiang Yuyan and track and field athlete Di Dongdong served as flag bearers for the Chinese delegation. The night before, at Paris La Defense Arena, 19-year-old Jiang shattered the world record in the women's 100-meter backstroke S6 final with a time of 1:19.44, claiming her seventh gold medal at the Paris Paralympics.

"Standing on that podium, watching the flag rise and hearing the (national) anthem play because of my own hard work — it's a feeling of pride and fulfillment that's hard to describe," Jiang said. "I often sing the anthem as loud as I can, I wonder if you can hear me."

The Chinese delegation reaffirmed its dominance in swimming, athletics, table tennis, fencing and badminton, securing 22 gold medals in swimming and 21 in athletics.

Paralympic pool prodigy Guo Jincheng, who is easily recognizable with his shaved head and no swimming cap, competed in nine events, bringing home four gold and two silver medals.

In the mixed 4x50m medley relay 20 points final on Thursday night, Guo's powerful leg kicks — described as "turbocharged motors" by the media — propelled him to the finish line, helping Team China break the world record and claim gold.

"Even though I was exhausted, my teammates entrusted me with the final leg, and I didn't want to let them down. I just wanted to give it my all," Guo said.

"There are no shortcuts to improving performance. ... It takes persistent training, day in and day out, to keep pushing your boundaries and becoming your own hero," he added.

The Chinese badminton team didn't disappoint fans either, winning nine gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal in the 14 out of 16 disciplines it participated in, finishing on the top of the chart.

Badminton made its Paralympic debut at the Tokyo Games in 2020, when the Chinese team won five gold, three silver and two bronze medals.

Zhang Xianming, coach of the team, said that Tokyo provided valuable competition experience. "We've since focused on analyzing events more closely and adjusting our training plans accordingly, which has helped us achieve even better results in Paris."

Beyond the competition, China's Paralympic athletes forged lasting friendships with their peers from around the world, creating touching moments that transcended sport.

After receiving her gold medal, Chinese powerlifter Cui Zhe helped wheelchair-bound first runner-up Esther Nworgu of Nigeria get off the stage. Meanwhile, Chinese powerlifting champion in the 67-kilogram weight category Tan Yujiao shared a heartwarming moment on the podium, kissing the cheeks of her fellow medalists from Egypt and Brazil.

After the women's 200m T36 final, China's Shi Yiting and New Zealand's Danielle Aitchison embraced warmly, celebrating each other's success in respectively clinching gold and silver.

"I was completely disoriented after crossing the finish line and collapsed on Danielle, who was nearest to me," Shi said. "I might have rested there for a minute, and I faintly heard her congratulating me."

Moments later, as Shi was being interviewed, Aitchison gave her another warm hug as she passed by.

Despite winning this event at both Rio 2016 and Tokyo, Shi acknowledged Aitchison's rapid improvement. "I lost to Danielle in May, and she has since broken the world record with a time of 27.47 seconds," Shi said. "I knew that to win, I had to give everything I had."

"We might be rivals on the track, but off it, we have a strong friendship. No matter who wins, the other is always genuinely pleased," Shi added.