The curtain fell on the Río de Janeiro Paralympic Games in Brazil on Sunday, September 18, with the closing ceremony taking place in the legendary Maracaná Stadium, where a special tribute was paid to the late 48 year old Iranian cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad, who died on September 17, during the road race event.
After crashing in the first section of the Grumari loop, a mountainous stretch of the course, during the penultimate competition of the Games, Golbarnezhad was taken to hospital, but died of cardiac arrest shortly afterward; an incident which has caused great sorrow among athletes and fans, with Golbarnezhad’s death marking the first during the Games since that of Danish cyclist Knud Enemark in Rome, 1960.
”He was an exemplary Paralympic sportsman who, with love and energy, tried his best to promote the name of Iran and to make all of us proud, and in the end he gave his life for this,” reads a statement from the Iranian Paralympic Committee.
The organizers of the Games and International Paralympic Committee also expressed their condolences following the tragedy which has marked the end of the competition, which saw China dominate throughout, finishing atop the country medal chart, with over 100 golds.
Cuba once again demonstrated its prowess, finishing in 18th place overall with eight golds, during a competition which saw 83 countries win at least one medal.
Omara Durand reclaimed her place of honor in the 400 meters, consolidating herself a the queen of the track in Brazil and securing a total of three gold medals at Engenhão Stadium – an improvement on the two she won in London 2012 - while Leinier Savón and Ernesto Blanco also gave outstanding performances, the former dominating the 100 and 200 meters events, while the latter was crowned champion of the T47 (athletes with upper limb impairments) 400 meters competition, also setting a personal best, and proving to be the greatest surprise of the Cuban delegation.
”I’m no longer an eternal promise, I am a reality, today I came out to put the plan into action, I structured the race well, and got the time,” noted Blanco.
Judoka Dalidaivis Rodríguez won gold for the island in the women’s 63kg division, while Lorenzo Pérez Escalona did the same in the pool, finishing first in the 100 meters free-style, only ten-hundredths of a second off his world record time – marking a perfect end to his participation in a Games, which saw Cuba’s Yunidis Castillo suffer an unfortunate injury early on in the competition. Despite her absence, the Cuba delegation did not become discouraged, but rather, with formidable spirit, secured 10 medals in athletics events to finish seventh on the medal chart for that discipline, before bidding farewell to the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.
