The success of Great Britain’s Paralympics cannot be measured in medals alone

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery Former swimmer Charlotte Henshaw and Emma Wiggs earlier delivered a British one-two on the final day in Paris While some nations have trained a laser-like focus on just a handful of sports, Britain’s strength remains their range, medals were won in 18 of the 19 events they contested and 117 athletes in the 215-strong squad are heading back on the Eurostar with something to declare. You could sense Maskill was utterly dreading the prospect after she won Britain’s first gold of the Games 11 days ago, her answers polite but short, the experience one she clearly didn’t relish. If we end up with few medals in the future, we’ll have to reflect on that.” When Chris Hoy won three Olympic cycling golds in Beijing, he reflected that if he was still competitive four years later in London – where he ultimately defended all three titles – the system would have failed. open image in gallery Storey delivered a record-extending 19th gold medal in a thrilling sprint finish to the road race “It’s when they stop younger athletes when it becomes an issue but, currently, I don’t see that as a problem.” Paris can look back on this storied summer with plenty of pride, the attendance for the two Games combined broke new records, though fractionally fewer Paralympic tickets were sold here than at London 2012.