2008 Summer Paralympics medal table

2008 Summer Paralympics medals
LocationBeijing,  China
Highlights
Most gold medals China (89)
Most total medals China (211)
Websitehttp://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/INF/GL/95A/GL0000000.shtml Edit this on Wikidata
← 2004 · Paralympics medal tables · 2012 →
Paralympic agitos
Part of a series on
2008 Summer Paralympics
Six medals are shown to display the front and back of each. From left to right, silver, gold and bronze.
The front and reverse of each medal from the 2008 Summer Paralympics

The medal table of the 2008 Summer Paralympics ranks the participating National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) by the number of gold medals won by their athletes during the competition. The 2008 Paralympics was the thirteenth Games to be held, a quadrennial competition open to athletes with physical and intellectual disabilities. The games were held in Beijing, People's Republic of China, from 6 September to 17 September 2008.[1]

Some 3,951 athletes from 146 NPCs participated in 472 events in 20 sports, with Burundi, Gabon, Georgia, Haiti and Montenegro making their Paralympic debuts. This set new records for both the number of NPCs competing and the number of athletes overall.[1] The design of the medals was similar to those awarded in the 2008 Summer Olympics,[2] featuring jade discs inserted into the medals themselves, with different color discs included for the three types of medals. A total of 21 designs were submitted from designers from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, Tsinghua University and the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation, with the final design approved in the autumn of 2007.[3]

Athletes from a record 76 NPCs won medals, leaving 70 NPCs without a medal.[4] Athletes from Croatia,[5] Mongolia,[6] Saudi Arabia,[7] Singapore[8] and Venezuela won their first ever gold medals.[9] Host China topped the medal table with 211 medals in total, including 89 gold medals, while Great Britain placed second with 102 medals, including 42 golds.[1][10] Canadian wheelchair racer Chantal Petitclerc, S9 swimmers Natalie du Toit and Matthew Cowdrey, from South Africa and Australia respectively, each won five gold medals at the 2008 Games.[4] Brazilian S5 swimmer Daniel Dias won the most individual medals overall,[11] a total of nine medals, comprising four golds, four silvers and a bronze.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d "Beijing 2008". Paralympic.org. Archived from the original on 7 May 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  2. ^ "Design Concept for the Medals of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games". Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  3. ^ "Medals unveiled for Paralympic Games of 2008". Beijing 2008. 14 November 2007. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Day 12: China biggest winner at Paralympics". Xinhua/People's Daily. 17 September 2008. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  5. ^ Horvat, Karmen (6 February 2009). "Best Croatian Paralympic Athletes Of 2008". Dalje.com. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  6. ^ "Dambadondog wins Mongolia's first ever Paralympic medal". Beijing 2008. 14 September 2008. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  7. ^ "Osamah wins Saudi Arabia's first gold". Beijing 2008. 8 September 2008. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  8. ^ "Yip's year: A sweet sixteen". Beijing 2008. 17 September 2008. Archived from the original on 16 April 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  9. ^ "Venezuela sports minister hails Beijing Paralympics as "perfect"". China Daily. 15 September 2008. Archived from the original on 11 July 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  10. ^ "2008 Medal Tally". ABC. Archived from the original on 2008-10-26. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  11. ^ "Daniel Dias". Laureus. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.