This Sunday (13), the closing ceremony of the Winter Paralympic Games was held in Beijing, China. The ceremony, traditionally leaner than the opening ceremony, was attended only by the flag bearers of each country. The representative of Brazil was the gaucho snowboarder André Barbieri. The competition came to an end with some remarkable results.
Here comes the flag bearers!#ClosingCeremony #Beijing2022 #WinterParalympics pic.twitter.com/r3aT6ufGK9
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) March 13, 2022
China leads the medal table, with 61 podiums in total (18 gold, 20 silver and 23 bronze). Before hosting the Games in 2022, the country had only won one medal in history, in 2018. In second place in the table was Ukraine, whose delegation arrived in the Asian country already with the armed conflict with Russia in progress. Ukrainian athletes won a total of 29 medals, 11 of which were gold, 10 silver and eight bronze, registering the best performance in the country at all times.
Brazil ended its third participation in the Winter Paralympic Games without podiums, but with reasons to celebrate. With six athletes, this was the largest delegation the country has ever taken to the event.
The Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games are officially over.?It was beautiful! We just want to thank: the Brazilian athletes, for the wonderful performances and a lot of determination. And to you, our wonderful fans, thank you for always being with us. ??? pic.twitter.com/uNaCXSZ2E1
— Brazilian Paralympic Committee (@cpboficial) March 13, 2022
In the last event that had the presence of Brazilian athletes in Beijing, the green-and-yellow team reached eighth place in the mixed cross-country ski relay. Skiers Aline Rocha, Cristian Ribera, Guilherme Rocha and Robelson Lula managed to improve on the result obtained in Pyeongchang, in 2018, when Brazil finished in 13th place.
The evolution also drew attention for another detail: four years ago, in South Korea, Brazil competed with just two athletes, Aline and Cristian, who had to ski two stretches each. This time, in an unprecedented way, the team was complete, with each skier being responsible for 2.5 km. The Brazilians had a time of 34min10s.
“Today the snow was excellent, for me it was great. It ended up being my best lap of all the events in the Games. It was great to be able to participate. It was fun for us”, said Aline Rocha, in a statement to the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB).
Aline Rocha and Cristian Ribera, by the way, were also responsible for Brazil’s best individual results in Beijing. Both skiers ran cross country short, medium and long distance events. Aline reached 10th place in the first two and seventh in the third. Cristian finished 9th, 13th and 14th respectively.
The results reflect the increase in investments for this cycle. Now, the athletes are waiting for an even better performance – and who knows, the first podium – in the 2026 edition, which will take place in two locations in Italy: Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
?? @Paralympics Italy is ready to welcome you! Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics will join the dynamism of the city with the magnificence of the Alps. Two complementary souls for a unique message #DualityTogether pic.twitter.com/1OojKDAHCC
— Milano Cortina 2026 (@milanocortina26) March 13, 2022
