PARIS — Swimmer Angel Mae Otom will carry the Philippine flag during the Paris Paralympics closing ceremony at Stade de France on Sunday.
According to Philippines News Agency, 21-year-old Otom 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. Delegation chief Ral Rosario highlighted, "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." He further stated, "She has earned the honor of being the flag-bearer at the closing ceremony. And the decision among the team members and coaches was unanimous."
Otom, born in Meycauayan, Bulacan and currently residing in Olongapo City, expressed her excitement and gratitude upon learning of her role. "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 said. Otom has a congenital upper limb deficiency which underscores her achievements.
In other developments, Cendy Ausano, the sixth and last Filipino bet at the Games, recorded a new personal-best of 15.05m and was fourth in the ongoing women's javelin throw F54 finals. Other Filipino athletes faced challenging competitions; wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan placed eighth in the men's 400-meter T52 finals, archer Agustina Bantiloc was defeated in the opening knockout round, swimmer Ernie Gawilan finished sixth in the 400m freestyle S7 finals but did not advance in the 200m individual medley SM7 final, and taekwondo jin Allain Ganapin lost in the men's K44 -80kg round of 16.
The closing ceremony, set to start at 8:30 p.m. local time, is reported by Le Monde to conclude with a grand party and a musical segment led by Jean-Michel Jarre. A symbolic gesture will also take place as the host city duties are handed over from Paris to Los Angeles for the 2028 Paralympic Games.