PARIS: The Paris Olympic Games came to an end Sunday night with the closing ceremony at the Stade de France near the French capital, bringing down the curtain on the 17-day competition.

Serving as flagbearers for Japan’s delegation at the ceremony were javelin thrower Haruka Kitaguchi, who became the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic gold medal in track and field on Saturday, and Shigeyuki Nakarai, known as B-Boy Shigekix, who finished fourth in men’s breaking.

Japan earned 20 gold medals, ranking third among over 200 countries and regions that participated in the Paris Games, after the United States and China, which clinched 40 golds each.

The total medal count for Japan reached 45, including 12 silvers and 13 bronzes. The overall tally and the total of gold medals were both the highest for the Asian nation in an Olympics held overseas. Japan came sixth among all participants in the total medal rankings.

Japanese fencers made a breakthrough with five medals, including two golds. The wrestling team was Japan’s leading medal earner, winning 11 medals including eight golds. The Japanese skateboarding team continued its success from the previous Tokyo Olympics with two golds and two silvers in Paris.

“A wide range of (Japanese) athletes disseminated the attractiveness of sports” to the world, former judoka Kosei Inoue, one of the deputy leaders of the Japanese delegation, said, expressing gratitude for Japanese Olympians.

Japanese medalists from the Paris Games include 14-year-old skateboarder Coco Yoshizawa, who clinched the gold medal for the women’s street event, and 48-year-old Yoshiaki Oiwa, a member of the Japanese equestrian squad that won bronze in team eventing, Japan’s first Olympic medal in 92 years in the sport.

Los Angeles will host the next Summer Games on July 14-30, 2028.

JIJI Press