Fatima Ezzahra El Idrissi of Morocco made history on the final day of the Paralympic Games in Paris, shattering the world record in the women’s marathon for visually impaired runners. The 29-year-old athlete crossed the finish line in an impressive 2 hours, 48 minutes and 36 seconds, besting the previous record held by Japan’s Misato Michishita by nearly six minutes. Michishita finished fourth, almost 15 minutes behind El Idrissi.
El Idrissi’s compatriot, Meryem En-Nourhi, finished in second place, just over nine minutes behind the winner, followed by Spain’s Elena Congost.
In the men’s T12 marathon, Tunisia’s Wajdi Boukhili secured the gold medal with a time of 2 hours, 22 minutes and 5 seconds. Spain’s Alberto Suarez Laso took silver, and Morocco’s El Amin Chentouf, the Paralympic record holder, finished third. All three athletes set season-best times.
The women’s and men’s T53/54 marathons witnessed victories for Swiss wheelchair racers Catherine Debrunner and Marcel Hug, respectively. Debrunner, the current world record holder, finished in 1:41:50, leaving Australia’s Madison de Rozario and the United States’ Susannah Scaroni in second and third place, respectively.
Hug triumphed in the men’s race, finishing in 1:27:39, ahead of China’s Jin Hua and Japan’s Tomoki Suzuki.
The Paralympic Games concluded with a grand dance party at the Stade de France, featuring the artistic direction of Thomas Jolly. Earlier in the day, the United States women’s wheelchair basketball team faced the defending champion Netherlands in the gold medal match, while finals in para powerlifting and five para canoe races also took place.
