Paris definitively closes its first Paralympic Games on Sunday, September 8, hoping that they leave a legacy in terms of the way disability is viewed and taken into consideration. And China has once again risen to the top of the medal table.
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As expected, para-cycling and para-swimming were by far the disciplines that provided the most medals for the Blues, with, among others, the victories of Marie Patouillet, Alexandre LeautéMathieu Bosredon, Florian Jouanny, Ugo Didier and Emeline Pierre. But it was once again China that came out on top, as in Tokyo in 2021. In the French capital, Chinese athletes won 94 gold medals, twice as many as Great Britain, which finished second ahead of the United States.
The largest delegation with 284 athletes
And these Paris Games will have highlighted several great champions from China, including swimmer Yuyan Jiang, 19, who leaves with seven gold medals around her neck, and becomes the most decorated athlete in Paris. She represented a country with a population of more than 1.4 billion, or about a sixth of the world’s population.
In Paris, China had the largest delegation with 284 athletes, competing in 20 out of a possible 22 disciplines. The Chinese won 22 gold medals in para-swimming, 21 in para-athletics and 11 in para-table tennis.
In one of the most anticipated events of the Paralympic Games, the 4x100m universal relay in para athletics, a mixed relay and must be carried out in a precise order. It is made up of an athlete with a visual impairment, a sprinter with an amputated limb, a person with a cerebral palsy disability and an athlete in a wheelchair. The Chinese set a new world record in 45.07 seconds, just ahead of Great Britain (46.01 seconds) and the United States (47.32 seconds), who won gold in Tokyo three years ago.
In China, 85 million people have disabilities
In China, it is estimated that around 85 million people are disabled. But this figure alone does not explain this harvest of medals. In 2001, when the city of Beijing was chosen to organize the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the government set up a specific program to help para-athletes in preparation and detection. In 2007, the country even opened a large preparation center entirely dedicated to sport. paralympic with modern infrastructure. For China, sport remains a real tool “soft power” internationally.
Since the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, China has been crushing the competition. But are these results enough to improve the lot of disabled people in China?
In a report published in 2022, an expert from the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by States parties, regretted that persons with disabilities living in China still face prejudices that prevent them from fully participating in social life and the world of work.
The vice-chairwoman of the Working Committee on Disability of the Chinese State Council, had indicated for her part that the country is an active defender and a convinced supporter of the Convention. “Over the past ten years, China has made considerable progress in promoting and protecting the basic rights of persons with disabilities. To date, more than 90 Chinese laws are directly related to the protection of the rights and interests of persons with disabilities.”China had argued.
Also readThe medal table