PARIS – Thanks to her outstanding debut in the 17th Paris Paralympic Games, national para swimmer Angel Otom was the unanimous choice to be the country’s flag-bearer at the closing ceremony of the quadrennial global showcase for physically-challenged athletes on Sunday at the Stade de France.
Otom, 21, capped her superb campaign in the stint supported by the Philippine Sports Commission with her second straight finals appearance last Friday at the La Defense Arena pool, finishing fifth in the women’s 50-meter butterfly S5 event in a personal best time of 45.78 seconds.
She lopped off nearly two seconds over her previous PB of 47.52 set in the world para swimming championships last year in Manchester, England, becoming the first Filipino para swimmer to enter the finals in both her events, and in only her initial outing in the meet, to boot.
The pride of Olongapo City made her maiden outing at the Games in memorable style last Tuesday, reaching the finals and finishing sixth in the women’s 50-meter backstroke S5 event in sixth place in a time of 44 seconds flat.
“The fact that Angel made two finals in both of her events in her Paralympic Games debut at that is truly remarkable and bodes well for future appearances for the country in international competition,” noted PH Paralympic chef de mission Ral Rosario.
“She (Otom) has earned the honor of being the flag-bearer at the closing ceremony. And the decision among the team members and coaches was unanimous.”
“I’m grateful po na maging part sa Games na ito at maging flag-bearer pa po sa closing. Isa po itong karangalan at pride po para na din sa akin dahil ako po ang magwawagayway ng watawat ng ating bansa!” exclaimed the athlete with excitement at the honor.
Less formal than the opening rites, Paris hosts intend to turn the closing program at the 80,000-capacity arena into a huge dance floor starting at 8:30 p.m (2:30 a.m. Manila time), according to the French daily Le Monde.
“The Paris Paralympic Games closing ceremony is due to ‘finish with a huge party,’ featuring 24 top French DJs, including Cassius, Kavinsky, Agoria, and electronic music legend Jean-Michel Jarre,” the paper reported on its website.
“The musical segment will start with Jean-Michel Jarre, the man who currently holds the record for uniting the most people ever at a single concert. In 1997, he played in front of 3.5 million people in Moscow (a feat certified by the Guinness Book of Records),” it added.
“Starting at 8:30 p.m., the 4,400 Paralympic athletes who have thrilled fans for eleven days will parade through the Stade de France. This great moment for the 168 delegations will be followed by a highly symbolic gesture: the handover from Paris to Los Angeles, the next city to host the Paralympic Games in 2028,” a separate report said.
