PARIS – Thanks to her fourth-place finish in the women’s javelin throw F54 event on Saturday, wheelchair thrower Cendy Asusano
will get the distinction of being the country’s flag-bearer at the closing ceremony of the 17th Paris Paralympic Games at the Stade de France on Sunday.
In her Paralympic Games debut, Asusano, 33, thew a personal best of 15.06 meters for the best finish among the six athletes who
took part in the quadrennial meet for physically-challenged in the French capital for the first time.
“We made a last-minute decision that it would be Asusano and not Angel Mae Otom would be the standard-bearer at the closing ceremonies.
Cendy will likely get help from taekwondo jin Allain Ganapin, who will be pushing her wheelchair,” PH squad chef de mission Ral Rosario said.
Otom was the first choice to carry the flag at the closing rites after capping 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.
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.
Less formal than the opening rites, French 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. (PSC PCO)
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