Otom flag-bearer at Paralympic Games closing ceremony

MANILA – Swimmer Angel Mae Otom will carry the Philippine flag during the Paris Paralympics closing ceremony at Stade de France on Sunday.

Otom, 21, was the unanimous choice after reaching the finals of her two events at La Defense Arena.

She placed fifth in the women's 50-meter butterfly S5 event, with a personal-best of 45.78 seconds, and was sixth in the 50m backstroke S5 with a time of 44s.

"The fact that Angel made two finals in both of her events, in her Paralympic Games debut at that, was truly remarkable and bodes well for future appearances for the country in international competition," delegation chief Ral Rosario said in a news release on Saturday.

"She (Otom) has earned the honor of being the flag-bearer at the closing ceremony. And the decision among the team members and coaches was unanimous," he added.

Otom, who was born in Meycauayan, Bulacan and is now a residing in Olongapo City, is excited after she was informed of the decision.

"I'm grateful to be a part of the Games and be a flag-bearer also in the closing. This is an honor and pride for me to wave the flag of our country," Otom, who has a congenital upper limb deficiency, said.

Meanwhile, sixth and last Filipino bet Cendy Ausano registered a new personal-best of 15.05m and was running fourth in the women's javelin throw F54 finals, ongoing as of posting time.

Earlier, Filipino wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan placed eighth and last in the men's 400-meter T52 finals at Stade de France; archer Agustina Bantiloc lost to Brazil's Jane Karla Gogel, 143-127 (25-29, 28-29, 24-29, 27-29, 23-27), in the opening knockout round of the women's individual compound event at Les Invalides shooting range; swimmer Ernie Gawilan ranked sixth in the 400m freestyle S7 finals but failed to reach the 200m individual medley SM7 final; and taekwondo jin Allain Ganapin lost to Azerbaijan's Abulfaz Abuzarli, 9-12, in the men's K44 -80kg round of 16 at Grand Palais.

The closing ceremony will start 8:30 p.m. (2:30 a.m. Monday, PH time), according to the French daily Le Monde.

"The Paris Paralympic Games closing ceremony is due to finish with a huge party," the paper reported on its website.

The musical segment will start with Jean-Michel Jarre, 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," Le Monde wrote.

The report said "the 4,400 Paralympic athletes who have thrilled fans for eleven days will parade through the Stade de France."

"This great moment for the 168 delegations will be followed by a highly symbolic gesture: the handover from Paris to Los Angeles, the next city to host the Paralympic Games in 2028," a separate report said. (PNA)