TOKYO: The Tokyo Paralympic Games will come to a close Sunday night after 12 days of heated competitions by athletes with disabilities in the midst of the relentless coronavirus pandemic.

The closing ceremony will be held at the Japan National Stadium with the participation of Paralympians and related officials but without spectators.

Tokyo hosted the Paralympics for the first time in 57 years and became the first city to hold the Summer Games twice in Paralympic history.

The 16th Summer Paralympics brought together a record number of athletes totaling about 4,400 from 162 countries and regions, as well as a team of refugees, who competed in 539 events in 22 sports. Two athletes from Afghanistan also joined the event after leaving their home country where the political situation is highly unstable.

Japan earned 51 Paralympic medals, clinching 13 golds, 15 silvers and 23 bronzes. The host nation came 11th both in terms of the number of golds and the total number of medals earned. The country fell only one medal short of its record overall number of Paralympic medals, at 52, logged at the 2004 Athens Paralympics.

Spectators were banned in principle at the Tokyo Paralympics, with the Japanese capital and three prefectures where venues were located being placed under a coronavirus state of emergency.

A special program to allow schoolchildren to view Tokyo Paralympic events at venues as an exception was carried out but participating children were reduced from the initial plan. There was a case in which teachers tested positive for COVID-19 after taking children to a Paralympic venue.

Although the Paralympic events were held almost as scheduled, the scorching summer heat forced the starting of some wheelchair tennis games to be pushed back. There were also events that had to be held late at night due to rain.

The 2024 Paralympics will be held in Paris. It will be the first time for the city to host the Paralympics.

In the closing ceremony, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike will hand over the Paralympic flag to International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons, who will give it to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

JIJI Press