NZ Team celebrates as Rio 2016 Paralympic Games close

New Zealand Paralympic Team celebrates as the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games draws to a close

· New Zealand finishes with 21 medals – 9 GOLD, 5 SILVER, 7 BRONZE – 3 medals over target

· On the overall medals, New Zealand finishes 13th – its highest finish ever (Athens 2004 – 16th)

· On medals per capita, New Zealand takes 1st place and defends the title won at London 2012

· In GOLD medals, Rio 2016 and Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games are equal as most successful

· Sophie Pascoe finishes 10thin the world for performance, from amongst 4,350 Paralympians

The entire New Zealand Paralympic Team, led by kiwi sprinter and double gold medallist Liam Malone as flag bearer, are on the bus to the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro for the Closing Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. There, they will celebrate the fantastic successes of the past 10 days.

On 7 September 2016 the Team, led by now silver medallist in Javelin, Holly Robinson, travelled the exact same path toward the famous arena in a very different frame of mind. Anticipation, excitement and a healthy case of nerves no doubt followed the team then, a moment now seemingly a lifetime ago.

Today, they return as a team triumphant. They have beaten their pre-Games medal target of 18 by 3 medals, winning a total of 21 (9 GOLD, 5 SILVER, 7 BRONZE). The only time New Zealand has ever won more medals was the 25 medals secured back in 1984 (8 gold). The 9 gold medals taken in Rio de Janeiro mean that in gold medal terms, Rio 2016 is exactly matched to Atlanta 1996 as New Zealand’s most successful Paralympic Games in its history. Add to this, New Zealand has successfully defended its title of number 1 in the world medals per capita, a title secured during the London 2012 Paralympic Games. New Zealand also sits 13th on overall medals, compared to 21st in the world after London 2012. The highest place New Zealand has ever finished is 16th overall, at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games.

New Zealand in competition at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games:

· 31 kiwi Paralympians, including 11 returning athletes and 20 debutants

· 6 sports - Para-Swimming, Para-Cycling, Para-Shooting, Para-Sailing, Para-Athletics, Para-Canoe

· 68 separate events contested across these 6 Para-Sports by kiwi Paralympians

· 52% of all events contested saw kiwi Paralympians deliver personal best times

· 57 finals were reached from amongst the 68 events contested by kiwi Paralympians

· 3 world records were set by New Zealand, of the 196 set across the 6 Para-Sports kiwis contested

· 11 Paralympic records were set by New Zealand

· 77% of the finals reached saw a New Zealander finish in the Top 8

· 94% of our kiwi Paralympians made it to the Top 8 in at least one event

· 21 medals won by New Zealand - 9 GOLD, 5 SILVER and 7 BRONZE

· 12 individual Paralympians secured medals, and increase from 4 during London 2012

· 1st in the world for medals per capita, successfully defending London 2012 title

· 13th in the world overall in medals, beating previous best of 16th at the Athens 2004 Paralympics

· 10th most successful Paralympian for Sophie Pascoe, amongst 4,350 Paralympians at the Games

· 9 gold medals secured, matching to the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games for most successful

New Zealand in the media at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games:

· 180 hours of live and delayed coverage on DUKE, TV1, Attitude Live and TVNZ OnDemand

· 2.04million people reached across all Paralympics New Zealand social media channels

· 1.7millon people have seen Paralympics New Zealand Facebook posts over the past two weeks

· 33% growth in followers on Paralympics New Zealand Facebook since Opening Ceremony

· 300% increase in page views on Paralympics New Zealand website, www.paralympics.org.nz

· 75% of visitors to www.paralympics.org.nz were new visitors over the past two weeks

Paralympics New Zealand is delighted to advise that the New Zealand Paralympic Team will be in arrivals at Auckland Airport on Thursday 22 September from 6.00am and a public welcome home will be held at 10.00am, Friday 23 September at the AUT Millennium, Rosedale, Auckland

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