Britain thrilled again at 2024 Paralympics

The United Kingdom is the second nation in these Paralympic Games. Beyond sport, the British had already praised the organization of the Olympic Games, and here we go again for the Paralympics: the athletes and spectators had a great time.

The sporting results of these Games are encouraging for the British. The United Kingdom came second in the medal table of these Paralympic Games, with 124 medals, including 49 gold. Which leads the head of delegation to say that “Paris has been incredible on and off the field of play”. “We couldn’t have left happier”she said as she prepared to board the Eurostar.

Although this second place in the nations ranking behind China is not a surprise, it is the place that the British systematically occupy at the Paralympics, except in London in 2012, where they finished in third place. This time, they collected 18 Olympic titles in swimming, nine in cycling, six in athletics and four in canoeing where they crushed the competition.

The press also praised the spectacular closing ceremony on Sunday evening. “A memorable farewell”writing The Guardian. In The TelegraphGareth Davis, who has followed every Paralympic Games since 1996, says that the Paris Games are the second biggest he has attended, ahead of Sydney, Atlanta and Beijing, but of course behind London.

This feeling of returning to the London 2012 Games is a sentiment shared by Hannah Cockroft, two gold medals in athletics for this wheelchair champion, nine Paralympic titles in twelve years. When she won her last title this weekend at the Stade de France, she confided that she had rediscovered the crazy atmosphere she had experienced at the London Games: “I don’t want to leave the stadium, it’s incredible! The encouragement coming from the stands. I could feel it following me throughout the whole event. I feel like I’m back in London.”

Channel 4 broadcast the Paralympics on British television and the channel claims that it was a success: more than twice as many viewers as four years ago for Tokyo, with of course a time lag that was very unfavourable for the Japanese Games. Channel 4 also chose disabled people among its presenters, journalists or consultants. Nearly 20 million Britons watched these broadcasts. Disability was therefore very visible throughout these Games.