Paralympics 2016: China tops medal tally anew, Australia finishes 5th

The People’s Republic of China once again dominated the global sporting arena after securing a total of 239 medals from the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

China ranked first on the final medal tally after winning 107 gold, 81 silver and 51 bronze medals from the 11-day sporting event that concluded Sunday in Brazil.

The Chinese Paralympic Team also topped the 2012 London Paralympic Games with a total of 231 medals. This year, China deployed a delegation of 308 paralympic athletes, the biggest from the 160 nations that participated in the recently-concluded Paralympic Games.

The Great Britain unseated Russia as it placed second with a total of 147 medals, 64 of which are gold, 39 are silver and 44 are bronze. Russia finished second in 2012 but the country was disqualified from competing this year. (Read: Rio 2016 Olympics: International Paralympic Committee suspends Russia over State-sponsored doping program)

Ukraine followed closely with 117 medals comprising of 41 gold, 37 silver and 39 bronze. The United States managed to rank fourth with 115 medals—40 gold, 44 silver and 31 bronze.

Australia Paralympic medals

Meanwhile, Australia finished fifth in the final Paralympics medal tally with 81 medals. The Australian Paralympic Team won 22 gold, 30 silver and 29 bronze medals after fielding a team of 177 athletes in Rio de Janeiro.

Gold medalist Curtis McGrath carried the Australian flag during the 2016 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony at the Macaraña Stadium. McGrath is a former soldier who lost both of his legs in Afghanistan. He competed and won in the Paracanoe KL2 class.

Australia also ranked fifth during the London 2012 Paralympic Games, but the country managed brought home 85 medals back then—32 gold, 23 silver and 30 bronze.

Earlier, Australia finished 10th in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games medal tally. The Australian Olympic Team brought home 29 medals—eight gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze—after competing in the 15-day event. (Read: Rio 2016 Olympics: Australia ranks 10th on medal tally)

The 2016 Olympics and Paralympics Games host country Brazil, meanwhile, ranked sixth in the final medal tally with 72 medals, followed by the Netherlands with 62 medals. Germany ranked eighth with 57 medals while Italy finished ninth with 39. Poland managed to secure the 10th spot with 39 medals, one gold medal less than Italy’s winnings.

The Republic of Korea is set to host the next Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea from March 9 to 18, 2018. The next Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games will be held in Tokyo, Japan in 2020.