Paris 2024 Paralympic Games: Three of GB's best performances in France
ParalympicsGB won medals in all but one sport at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, which concluded Sunday 8 September with more than half of the 215-strong squad making the podium.
These are incredible stats, but those numbers hide the drama, the history-making moments, and the plethora of emotions that make up the individual stories in the global showcase of some of the most outstanding athletes on earth.
Olympics.com highlights some of the best moments for ParalympicsGB across the 11 days of competition at Paris 2024.
Out of this world Paralympic debut for Poppy Maskill
At Games' end, teenage swimmer Poppy Maskill told ParalympicsGB: “I’ve won five medals in Paris, the butterfly was my favourite as it was my first Paralympic medal and a world record."
Pretty good from the Pop-ster, no? Five medals with one a world record.
But there's so much more to that relatively simple but impactful statement.
The 19-year-old won the butterfly gold medal she refers to as her favourite of the quintet, on day one of the action at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Not only did that medal get the ball rolling for ParalympicsGB, with a first top spot of any sport at the Games in France but it was Maskill's first-ever final, at her debut Paralympics.
Oh, and don't forget she did it in a world record time for women’s 100m butterfly S14 of 1:03.00.
This was followed by two more top spots in the Paris La Defense Arena in the 100m backstroke, and mixed 4x100m freestyle relay alongside William Ellard, Rhys Darbey and Olivia Newman-Baronius.
Two silvers were secured in 200m freestyle, and 200m individual medley to make Maskill ParalympicsGB’s most successful multi-medallist of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
That accolade led to her being chosen as one of two athletes to carry the GB flag at the Closing Ceremony of Paris 2024, alongside Para-Taekwondo gold medallist, Matt Bush, in a big party that celebrated the athletes but also officially handed the baton over to LA 2028.
Presumably Maskill is now looking forward to a chill out and reflect on what she wants to achieve next?
Not exactly. Here is the rest of the quote that we started with, said by Maskill on the day of the Closing Ceremony.
"Next time I really want to win five golds."
Archer Jodie Grinham wins gold and silver with passenger on board
Jodie Grinham raised the bow, breathed deeply, and got ready to let fly the arrow.
At seven months gestation, the baby on board decided that was a good moment to kick.
Having found a way to practice this exact scenario with her coach, Grinham took a moment to re-settle, re-focus, and then let fly.
"Baby hasn't stopped kicking," Grinham told BBC Sport after winning bronze.
"It's almost like baby's going, 'what's going on, it's really loud, mummy what are you doing'. But it's been a lovely reminder of the support bubble I have in my belly," Grinham told BBC Sport after claiming bronze against friend, teammate and defending champion, Phoebe Paterson Pine, in the women's individual compound open match.
Grinham, baby, and Nathan MacQueen then went on to win gold in the mixed team compound open event in a dramatic match against the Islamic Republic of Iran pairing of Fatemeh Hemmati and Hadi Nori, finishing 155 points to 151, against the iconic backdrop of Esplanade des Invalides.
"As long as I'm healthy and baby's healthy, I knew we could compete,” said Grinham, whose partner – with baby bag close by – and two-year-old son, watched on from the stands.
Not just compete, but come away with two medals, including gold.
Schoolgirl Bly Twomey, table tennis' new star
Aside from Grinham's baby in utero, the actual youngest competitor for ParalympicsGB at Paris 2024, 13-year-old swimmer Iona Winnifrith, won silver in the SB7 100m breaststroke on the same day table tennis player and fellow schoolgirl Bly Twomey, 14, won her second medal of the Games.
Remarkably, GB's most successful Paralympian of all time (in terms of gold medals) Sarah Storey, who after Paris 2024 has a total of 30 including 19 golds, had already won 17 medals before Winnifrith was even born.
Twomey first made the podium in WD14 doubles with Fliss Pickard, while on day eight she finished with a bronze after a hard-fought WS7 match, which not only endeared her to the neutral crowd but had her extensive fan base from her home-town club creating a football-style atmosphere.
Many of those kids watching on and chanting the likes of, "We love you Bly, we do", were children in foster care and those who had never left the country before.
Twomey first went to Brighton Table Tennis Club in 2021, to a multi-sport camp run thanks to the Holiday Activities and Food programme inspired by Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford.
The timing was perfect as fellow player Will Bayley returned from competing at Tokyo 2020 having doubled his collection of Paralympic medals to four after he had secured silver and gold at his first two Paralympic Games at London 2012 and Rio 2016, respectively, and took the new kid under his wing.
Bayley, whose first Paralympic Games was at Beijing 2008, also competed at Paris 2024 in front of their boisterous club mates, claiming silver in the heated gold-medal match against People's Republic of China's Yan Shuo.
Twomey and Bayley are already eyeing redemption at LA 2028, with gold very much the vision, and presumably, their travelling supporters in tow.