MADRID, 13 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Beijing drew the curtain this Sunday to the XIII edition of the Winter Paralympic Games with Spanish protagonism for skier Pol Makuri Redolad, in charge of carrying the flag at the Closing Ceremony held at the capital’s National Stadium, ‘El Nido’.
“For me it is an honor to be the flag bearer, not only for representing my country, but also all people with disabilities and their families. I am very excited to have been the first athlete with cerebral palsy to participate from Spain in the Winter Games and I would like to be an example for other people in my situation and motivate them, because with desire and enthusiasm, and whatever it takes, everything is possible”, said the Catalan before leaving the parade with the rest of the 45 delegations in facilitated statements by the Spanish Paralympic Committee (CPE).
The Barcelonan, debutant in a Paralympic event, competed in three cross-country skiing events with a fourteenth place in the 20 km classic style as his best position, while he was twenty-second and twenty-fifth in the 12.5 km and in the Sprint, respectively. . The ‘rider’ Víctor González, after participating and going to the final of the snowboard cross modality (SB-LL1), was disqualified for “a disciplinary matter” that has not yet been resolved.
At a sporting level, with the absence of athletes from Russia and Belarus due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, China demonstrated its growth and power as host and led the medal table with 61 metals, 18 gold, 20 silver and 23 bronze, when it did four years in PyeongChang (South Korea) only achieved one. The Ukrainian delegation was second with 29 medals (10/11/8) and Canada completed the podium with 25 (6/8/11).
“After three consecutive Games in Asia, the Paralympic Movement is bigger and stronger. Our vision of inclusion through parasport is more significant and more necessary than ever. If Beijing 2008 started a new chapter of growth for the Paralympic Movement, Beijing 2022 marked a new dawn for the Paralympic Winter Games,” celebrated Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), during his speech at the Closing Ceremony.
For the Brazilian, the organization of the meeting was “impressive”. “
Without a doubt, China has set a benchmark for all future Winter Games and is undoubtedly now a powerhouse of Paralympic winter sports,” he stressed.
“Thanks to the IPC team, making two Games in seven months has been a heroic effort, and to the athletes, because during the darkest of times, your performances shone brightly. In the face of adversity, you showed strength in diversity. As beacons of hope and champions of peace, your actions speak much louder than your words. The differences here did not divide us, they united us, and through this unity we have hope for inclusion, for harmony and, most importantly, for peace,” he said.
A VERY MUSICAL CLOSURE WITH WISHES FOR PEACE
The Closing once again offered the most visual of the country’s tradition and with music already as the axis since its inception on a stage made up of LED screens that became a kind of turntable’, while some of the best images that have left the six sports of this edition.
Subsequently, all the flag-bearers, to the sound of the ‘Ode of Joy’, went towards that disk that became a blue earth. With the music of ‘You Raise Me Up’, artists with disabilities expressed love through sign language, while forming a special ‘sound wave’ on the floor that represented moving scenes from the daily lives of people with and without disability.
A tribute to volunteers with disabilities and the wish through the silent language of almost two hundred artists with hearing disabilities, with the help of six sign language interpreters, for a better world. Then it was time to take over from the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Games, which showed the first traces of what can be seen with an artistic show entitled ‘We are the light’. With the Shuey Rhon Rhons mascot putting out the flame in the cauldron, the fireworks lit up the night over ‘El Nido’ and put an end to it.