Friendships forged in gold at Paris Paralympics
China DailyChina's Jiang Yuyan, gold medallist in the Women's 100m Backstroke at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, celebrates on the podium with the silver and bronze medallists at Paris La Defense Arena in France on Sept 7. As the flame of this summer's Paralympic Games flickered out on Sunday in the French capital, signaling the end of more than 10 days of intense competition, Team China concluded its campaign with 94 gold, 76 silver and 50 bronze medals, setting multiple world records across sports including swimming, athletics and cycling. The night before, at Paris La Defense Arena, 19-year-old Jiang shattered the world record in the women's 100-meter backstroke S6 final with a time of 1:19.44, claiming her seventh gold medal at the Paris Paralympics. In the mixed 4x50m medley relay 20 points final on Thursday night, Guo's powerful leg kicks — described as "turbocharged motors" by the media — propelled him to the finish line, helping Team China break the world record and claim gold.