The Paralympic flame went out on Sunday, March 13, in Beijing’s National Stadium, the “Bird’s Nest”. The XIIIand Paralympic Winter Games (JP) are officially closed and the baton has been given to the next hosts of the Winter Games in 2026: the metropolis of Milan (Italy), associated with the ski resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo, in the Dolomites.
An edition with a political tone
Uncertainties about the abilities of Ukrainian athletes to be able to participate in the high mass of snow and ice sports, to the exclusion of the Russian and Belarusian delegations on the eve of the opening ceremony… These Games will remain marked by the context geopolitics and the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, just days before their launch.
“It’s a miracle we got here”, recalled, before the start of the competition, the president of the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee, Valeriy Sushkevych. The raised fist of the country’s athletes parading in front of the President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Andrew Parsons, standing, in the “Bird’s Nest”, on March 4, will remain one of the strong images of these Games where the tributes and messages of support for the Ukrainians were numerous.
After the Paralympic break, the Ukrainian team will fly to Istanbul (Turkey), then stay a few days in Warsaw (Poland) before returning to their country by bus. Several of the athletes in the delegation, living in particular in Kharkiv, a heavily bombed city, may not return home. Others spoke of their desire to help by donating blood, clothing or offering shelter.
Ukraine has won a total of twenty-nine medals (including eleven gold) during its Games. The country finished in second place in the nations ranking.
The Blues end on a high note
France offered itself gold and silver to finish its Games. Cross-country skiers Benjamin Daviet and Anthony Chalençon finished second in the cross-country ski relay, beaten on the slopes of the Nordic site of Zhangjiakou by the Ukrainian duo.
“We gave everything. I’m so happy “reacted Anthony Chalençon, 31, who leaves these Games with a Paralympic medal. “It was still a tough race”, argued Benjamin Daviet, who won the tenth Paralympic medal of his career, his fourth in Beijing. The 32-year-old Haut-Savoyard, France’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony, had already won gold in cross-country skiing (sprint) and biathlon (individual) as well as silver in the middle distance background.
Arthur Bauchet, 21, won a third crown on the slopes of Yanqing, winning the slalom event (standing category). His fourth medal in these Games, after the gold in the downhill and super combined, as well as the bronze in the giant slalom.
“It’s magical to do it like that, especially on the last day. I started the Games in style, I end them in style, what more could you ask for? »
As a reward for his performance, the 21-year-old French skier was chosen to be the flag bearer for the French team during the closing ceremony.
Like four years ago in South Korea, France finished in fourth place in the standings, with a slightly less abundant harvest, but as many titles (seven) – twelve medals in China, against twenty charms in Pyeonchang.
The raid of the Chinese delegation
In five participations in the Paralympic Winter Games, the Chinese had so far won only one medal: gold in curling in Pyeongchang, in 2018. At “home”, they caused a sensation, accumulating titles and podiums. Sixty-one medals, including eighteen gold: China concludes this edition in first place in the nations ranking.
No miracle recipe, according to the athletes of the host country, just hard work: “We worked very hard. There isn’t an athlete on the team who doesn’t have an injury. We had tons of muscle glitches and fractures.said alpine skier Li Xiang, sixth in the super combined.
“For these athletes, every day for eleven months was: training, skiing, training, skiing… I don’t know what other country could do that.”said Dario Capelli, head coach of the Chinese Paralympic Alpine Skiing Team. And the Italian to confide that when he was recruited five years ago by China, his protégés were “all beginners”.
A question of means too. “It’s the Chinese mentality: when they want something, they want the best. And they invest a lot of money”insists the Transalpine.
The exclusion of the Russians and Belarusians also cemented China’s supremacy in the medal table. CIP President Andrew Parsons himself admitted on Saturday that this had no ” no doubt “ affected the results in “certain tests”. In Pyeongchang, the Russians and Belarusians had won thirty-six medals, in particular in the long distance and biathlon, disciplines where the Chinese precisely mounted the podium thirty times in Beijing.