China Scores Impressive Finale at Sydney ParalympicsThe Chinese Paralympians have emulated their able-bodied athletes when they finished all their events in the 11th Paralympics Games Saturday in Sydney.Compared to the 28 golds won by the Chinese Olympic athletes, the Paralympic athletes have collected a total of 72 medals including 34 golds to rank sixth in the medal standings. The two Chinese teams each won 16 golds in the Atlanta Games four years ago. "Inspired by the Olympic athletes, the Paralympians have achieved their best while showing sportsmanship," said Zhao Jihua, the spokesman for the Chinese delegation. The biggest winner among the Chinese squad is the 25-year-old Zhu Hongyan, who became one of the most prolific swimmers of the Games with five golds. She was timed at 28.67 seconds for the gold in the women's 50m freestyle S12 event, which was her fifth title at the Games, following those in the 200m individual medley, 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly and 100m backstroke. "I'm very excited. All my efforts have finally paid off," said Zhu. Xiong Xiaoming also made a splash in the swimming pool with a time of 26.36 seconds in men's 50m freestyle S9, winning his second gold at the Games and setting a new world record. Yin Jianhua also added one swimming gold for China from his victory the men's 50m freestyle S6 final where he clocked a winning time of 31.31 seconds. On the day China also struck gold in the athletic events where Zhang Hongwei won the men's triple jump F46 and Li Qiang took the men's 100m T12 title. China has sent a contingent of 87 athletes for the Sydney Paralympics, the largest Chinese presence at any Paralympic Games ever since its debut in 1984. Up to the weekend, the Chinese athletes have finished their competition in all the 159 events of six sports -- track and field, swimming, shooting, table tennis, judo and powerlifting. With one day to go for the Games, such sports as swimming, wheelchair basketball, equestrian, powerlifting, table tennis, wheelchair tennis and volleyball have come to an end. Australia has almost an unbeatable lead at the medal standings with 62 golds, followed by Britain (41) and Spain (37). |
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