The Spanish team concluded on Sunday their participation in the London 2012 Paralympic Games with a total harvest of 42 medals (8 gold, 18 silver and 16 bronze) in seven sports: athletics, cycling, football 5, judo, swimming, table tennis and Olympic shooting.
As happened in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, China swept the medals in London in 2012, with more authority if it fits on the two previous Paralympic editions.
The Chinese delegation won a total of 231 medals (95 golds, 71 silvers and 65 bronze), followed by Russia (35-38-28), Britain (34-42-43), Ukraine (32-23-28) Australia (31-23-30), United States (30-29-37), Brazil (21-14-8), Germany (18-26-22), Poland (14-13-9) and the Netherlands (10 – 10-19).
The bulk of the medals Spanish, as in previous Paralympics, took place in swimming, whose team won 22 metals (2 gold, 11 silver and 9 bronze), followed by cycling (2 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze) , athletics (three golds and two silvers), judo (1 gold and 2 bronze), the Olympic shooting (1 silver) and football
5 (1 bronze).
Teresa Perales was the star that shone in the British capital. Zaragoza swimmer won six medals (one gold, three silver and two bronze) and was exalted to be a legend in Spanish sport active, as it accumulates in their staff honors a total of 22 Paralympic medals, the same number of metals that most decorated Olympian, Michael Phelps.
Swimmers were also multimedallistas Sebastian ‘Chano’ Rodriguez and Enhamed Enhamed (two silver and one bronze), and Richard Oribe and Sarai Gascon (one silver and one bronze) and the table tennis player Alvaro Valera (two silvers) and tandem Jose Enrique Juan Antonio Villanueva Porto (one silver and one bronze).
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CHAMPIONS
Athletes who heard the Spanish anthem at the top of the podium were David Casinos athletes (discus throw), José Antonio Exposito (long jump) and Alberto Suarez (marathon); cyclists Alfonso Cabello (kilometers) and tandem Christian Venge-David Llauradó (trial), the swimmers Teresa Perales (100m free) and Michelle Alonso (100m breaststroke), and Carmen Herrera judoka (under 70 kilos).
Moreover, swimming remained the stronghold of successes of the Spanish delegation in the Paralympics. His 22 medals have names: Teresa Perales (one gold, three silver and two bronze), Michelle Alonso (one gold), Sebastian ‘Chano’ Rodriguez and Enhamed Enhamed (two silver and one bronze), Richard Oribe and Sarai Gascon ( one silver and one bronze), Enrique Floriano and Miguel Luque (one silver), and Ricardo Ten, Deborah Font and Jose Antonio Mari (a bronze).
Teresa Perales has become the most decorated athlete Spanish Paralympic (22 medals), while ‘Chano’ Rodriguez and Richard Oribe follow with 16, the same number as the athlete and got Puri Santamarta withdrawal.
In addition, cycling brought to Spain seven medals, four in track (gold in the kilometer Alfonso Cabello, José Enrique silver Juan Antonio Villanueva Porto in Porto mile-Villanueva bronze in speed and Michelangelo Diego Javier Clemente-Munoz in pursuit) and three on the road (gold-David Christian Venge Llauradó time trial, silver-Mayalen Josefa Benitez Noriega online and Maurice bronze Eckhard time trial).
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OTHER SPORTS
The five track and field medals were awarded to David Casinos (gold in discus), José Antonio Exposito (gold in long jump), Alberto Suárez (gold in marathon), Elena Congost (silver in 1500 meters) and Abderrahman Ait (silver marathon).
The Spanish judo continued in good shape, especially Carmen Herrera, who earned his third consecutive Paralympic champion title, while Monica and Marta Arce Merenciano seized paths bronze medals.
The Spanish had table tennis on the podium by three tests: Alvaro Valera individual silver, team silver Alvaro Valera and Jordi Morales, and team bronze Jose Manuel Ruiz and Jorge Cardona.
In the Olympic shooting, Juan Antonio Saavedra won a silver R6 (free rifle lying 50 meters), which is the fourth Spanish metal of the sport in the history of the Paralympic Games. Luis Salgado won a silver in Barcelona ’92 and Angel Francisco Soriano, who competed in London in 2012, won a gold at Atlanta ’96 and a bronze in Sydney 2000.
The Spanish soccer team won 5 to blind the bronze medal after beating Argentina on penalties and take revenge and Athens 2004, where they beat Argentina on penalties to Spanish.
Moreover, they ran out of medals the Spanish representatives of wheelchair basketball, boccia, wheelchair fencing, weightlifting, rowing, archery, wheelchair tennis and sailing.
Guillermo Rodriguez finished fourth in archery, while the Spanish national wheelchair basketball became the surprise team to occupy a worthy fifth place after 16 years without participating in the Paralympics.
Precisely in wheelchair basketball came one of the most emotional moments, when the Spanish captain, Diego de Paz, Saturday played his last game for the national team.
At the end of the game, the player Sevillian sobbed uncontrollably before the unexpected tribute they had prepared his teammates in midfield the North Greenwich Arena.
From Valverauto we congratulate all Paralympic athletes who have participated. Your example of effort is what really makes you winners!
