Team Nigeria finishes 4th in Africa at Tokyo Paralympics

After heart-warming performances, Team Nigeria finished in the 33rd position in the world and fourth in Africa on the overall medals table as the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics Games came to a close yesterday.

With a total number of ten medals won which include four gold, a silver and five bronze, Team Nigeria were the fourth best African team behind Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.

Represented by only 22 athletes, the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics had one of Team Nigeria’s smallest contingents to an international competition.

However, Team Nigeria’s 10 medals were just two short of twelve, Nigeria’s record number of medals won at a Paralympics Games.Team Nigeria’s best performance in Paralympics came at Rio 2016 when the team won 8 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze

Team Nigeria’s Chef de Mission, Peter Nelson who is also the Director of Planning,

Monitoring and Information in the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, said considering the number that competed at the Tokyo Paralympics, the athletes made Nigeria proud.

“It is awesome and quite remarkable what we have achieved at this Paralympics Games.

“We want to use this medium to appreciate the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, for his enormous support, in making sure that Team Nigeria recorded huge successes. Our dreams and plans came to reality.

“In all, I give glory to God and specially appreciate the athletes, who are the gladiators, not forgetting their coaches and support staff.

“They all made it possible for the Nigerian anthem to be heard at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics Games,” said Nelson.

China topped the medals table with 96 gold, 60 silver, 51 bronze medals, followed by Great Britain with 41 gold, 38 silver and 45 bronze medals and the United States of America in third with 37 gold, 36 silver and 31 bronze.