Mobility Friends Together

The Paralympic Games ended yesterday, the 18th of September, and a very powerful closing ceremony marked the ending of an event that was very important. The ceremony symbolized both the accomplishments of the athletes, but also hopes for the future. Athletes from China brought home the most medals. Great Britain was second place in the medal counts, with the United States close at their heels.

China won over 200 medals this year. Their athletes received 89 Gold Medals, 70 Silver Medals, and 52 Bronze Medals. Great Britain brought home 102 Medals this year, among them 42 Gold Medals.

The United States was a very close third and received 99 Medals. The U.S. Team brought 42 Gold Medals, 35 Silver Medals, and 28 Bronze Medals back with them. The United States Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby Team, and Goalball team made an impressive stand and won the Gold. The U.S. Team was also very successful in the swimming events, athletic events, and cycling.

Athletes from around 70 different countries participated in this years games and they all deserve our respect. The medals are nice and represent a very big accomplishment, but the Paralympics are about much more than just winning the Gold. All of the athletes who participated in the games showed a strong sense of character and perseverance.

The Paralympics are in full swing and athletes from around the world have joined together to compete with one-another. There are still five days left in the tournament and many different countries have been collecting Gold Medals. Among them the top three are China, Great Britain, and the United States.

So far China has a big lead in the medal counts. They have a total of 109 medals including 37 gold ones. Great Britain is close behind in the gold count, with 33 gold medals and 69 total. The United States has 69 total medals including 23 gold medals and 16 silver ones.

China has been quite successful in most of the events, but they have earned most of their medals in the Athletics discipline, which includes discus throw, javelin throw, long jump, and other field and track events. They have also been quite successful in the table tennis events, where the men have taken 2 gold medals and the women 4.

From the United States, Cycling has been a very successful event, with Barbara Buchan, Karissa Whitsell, and Mackenzie, Woodring all taking gold medals in women cycling events.

The United States has also been very successful in the swimming events with Jessica Long taking 6 medals, including 4 gold ones. Jessica Long is 16 years old and was originally born in Russia, but was adopted by a family in Maryland when she was around 1 year old. Her lower legs were amputated when she was eighteen months old, but she rarely let this slow her down.

Always athletic, she began swimming and entered into her first competition in 2002. She competed in the 2004 Paralympics, when she was only twelve, and won 3 gold medals.

We salute all the members of the United States Team and all the other great athletes that are giving it their all and showing the world how strong they are.