Netherlands close Paralympic Games in fifth place in medal standings

With 25 gold, 17 silver and 17 bronze, the Netherlands finished in fifth place in the medal standings, where the amount of gold makes the difference. China was by far the best performer with 96 gold, 60 silver and 51 bronze. Great Britain, the United States and Russian athletes followed, who were not allowed to participate as Russia but as the RPC (Russian Paralympic Committee) due to a doping sanction. They were not welcome at the Rio 2016 and Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Games.

Calculated by the number of gold medals, the Netherlands have not done so well since 1988 (31 gold medals). Fifth place was the best result since 1976, when the Netherlands finished second to the Canadian city of Toronto at the then much smaller Paralympic Games.

Head of Mission Esther Vergeer was more than happy with the outcome, although she had one caveat. “In total, we had more medals at Rio 2016: 62 against 59 now. But that also has to do with our strict selection policy.” In Rio, the Dutch delegation was still made up of 126 athletes.

Handbiker Jetze Plat and swimmer Rogier Dorsman were TeamNL’s most successful athletes in Tokyo, both with three gold medals. Dorsman will carry the Dutch flag at the closing ceremony on Sunday. Plat already did this at the opening ceremony.

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