6.17am EDT
06:17
USA, USA, USA
6.13am EDT
06:13
Bronze for the Great Britain men’s basketball team
6.10am EDT
06:10
The USA beat China in the women’s volleyball
5.56am EDT
05:56
Tokyo picture gallery
5.48am EDT
05:48
Jaryd Clifford took out another silver
5.36am EDT
05:36
Madison de Rozario’s extraordinary gold finsh
5.25am EDT
05:25
The marathon(s)
6.25am EDT
06:25
Here is Martin Belam’s briefing document, which probably covers everything I’ve laid out below, but better.
6.23am EDT
06:23
Some follow-up on the British track races and athletes from the final night there, which was yesterday.
6.17am EDT
06:17
USA, USA, USA
You know the drill. Basketball, they win it. The US men’s wheelchair team golded up against Japan, but it was much closer. The Japanese scored with 31 seconds left to close the gap to 60-63. USA scored one from a free throw. Japan scored a rebound and had a shot with 17 seconds that would have made it it 62-64 – but missed it. The USA held on.
6.13am EDT
06:13
Bronze for the Great Britain men’s basketball team
The wheelchair basketballers up against Spain did it comfortably. Scores were level after one quarter, two points up at the half, but in the third quarter GB skipped out to a 10-point lead and held it from there. Terry Bywater hit 14 points.
6.10am EDT
06:10
The USA beat China in the women’s volleyball
When you think China and you think USA, you think contests. You think competition. In fact, sitting volleyball could be another name for diplomacy. In this case, the Americans won 3 sets to 1.
That denied China one last gold medal. They finished their games on 96 gold, as well as 60 silver and 51 bronze. The next best was 41 gold and 124 total to Great Britain, next to China’s total of 207.
6.06am EDT
06:06
In the shooting, we had the R6 fixed 50m rifle prone SH1 final, which is also a phrase the police make you say when they pull you over. The medal order went: Slovaka, Sweden, Spain, with the shooters Veronika Vadovicova, Anna Normann, and Juan Antonio Saavedra Reinaldo.
6.03am EDT
06:03
There were seven gold medal badminton matches today across men and women, singles and pairs, and classes. Two went to China, two to Japan, one each to Indonesia, France, and Hong Kong.
Seven bronze matches, too. The one in which our British readers will have most interest went to Krysten Coombs, the Brighton lad who beat his Brazilian opponent in the SH6 men’s singles.
Of the others, two went to India, one to China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Japan.
5.56am EDT
05:56
Tokyo picture gallery
Picture time? Have a flick through these.
Updated
at 5.57am EDT
5.56am EDT
05:56
In the men’s T46 marathon, which is for athletes with an upper limb amputation, China won gold via Li Chaoyan in a Games record of 2:25:50. Alex Pires de Silva won silver for Brazil, Nagata Tsutomu bronze for Japan.
An Australian runner also holds the world record in this event, Michael Roeger running that at the same meet where Clifford set his in April. But Roeger ran nearly 16 minutes behind that time today to finish sixth.
5.51am EDT
05:51
There was a last gold for Japan too in the women’s T12 marathon. That was also won in a Games record time, Michishita Misato running 3:00:50. She was minutes ahead of second place, the Russian Elena Pautova, with Louzanne Coetzee representing South Africa third.
5.48am EDT
05:48
Jaryd Clifford took out another silver
He’s been a favourite of these Games, the young Australian, for the way he’s spoken after races and the way he’s run during them. Bronze in the 1500m, silver in the 5000m, and finished off today with silver in the T12 marathon for visually impaired runners. He does hold the world record in this event, but that was presumably set on a dry and mild day in Sydney in April. This marathon was run in pouring rain and Tokyo summer humidity.
Beating him in for gold was the Moroccan, El Amin Chentouf, who ran a Games record of 2:21:43. Bronze went to the hosts via Horikoshi Tadashi.
5.40am EDT
05:40
In the men’s T54 marathon, Switzerland did get the top prize. Manuel Hug (a very cuddly name) had no such concerns on the line. He burned into the stadium well clear of anyone, and had almost a lap to himself before Zhang Yong of China arrived to take silver. Bronze saw the American Daniel Romanchuk break away late from a couple of rivals.
5.36am EDT
05:36
Madison de Rozario’s extraordinary gold finsh
I mean, this was unbelievable. The women’s T54, the wheelchair racers. Doing an entire marathon. They can do it faster than runners on foot, given that racing chairs can reach a good speed anytime there’s a downhill, but they’re doing the entire race with their shoulders and arms. It’s an extraordinary feat just to get through it.
After 42 kilometres of that, Madison de Rozario came into the stadium with Swiss racer Manuela Schaer on her six. Schaer had won the 800 in the T54 class, de Rozario the 800 in the T53. On their final lap around the stadium, Schaer chased all the way. She had more closing speed. Madison de Rozario was being tracked down. She was exhausted. But she found just enough to lunge and stay ahead in the closing straight.
After all that distance, a single chair’s length separated them. One second the difference in finishing time. A new Games record with 1:38.11, and an unforgettable gold for the Australian.
5.25am EDT
05:25
The marathon(s)
Frankly, I believe that the time of 6am is an affront to humanity. Nobody should be doing anything at 6am except possibly coming home after a good one. In an ideal world nobody would ever see 6am. It would be like the Gippsland panther: occasionally mentioned, never verified, not exciting enough to bother searching for.
And yet, at 6am this morning in Tokyo, a mass of athletes gathered for the express purpose of competing in a marathon. Some on feet, some on wheels, with staggered starts by event type from 6:30 up to 6:50am.
It is a triumph of the human willingness to do painful, painful things.
5.20am EDT
05:20
Time for a look back at what did happen earlier today, while the UK was snoozing and Japan was busy.
5.00am EDT
05:00
Welcome
Geoff Lemon
Hello, and welcome to Paralympics Day 12 – and final. Today was less intensely packed with events than the last couple of weeks, as is traditional, though there were a last few medals handed out in the marathons, badminton, shooting, volleyball and basketball. That’s it for sport.
Tonight, Tokyo time, we will instead be gearing up for the Paralympic closing ceremony. Going by the standards that the Tokyo organisers have set for themselves across three ceremonies so far dating back to the Olympic Games, it should be a special spectacle. For those who can’t watch along, I’ll do my best to capture it for you.
Tonight more than ever would be a good time to hear from you. Let me know your best memories from these Games, your favourite moments, the sports or athletes you’ve discovered, the conversations you’ve had, what you’ll look forward to next. My email address is in the sidebar.