Kiwi women claim all but two of our medals in Paris

Kiwi women continued to dominate in Paris, with seven of the nine medals Aotearoa won at the Paralympic Games claimed by female athletes – including the sole gold. New Zealanders have now won 244 medals over a 56-year history.
As the competitions finished overnight, and the team returns home, there are victories and disappointments both for the athletes and their support team bidding au revoir to Paris. With LA28 in four years, and, even more critically, an Oceania Games in Brisbane 2032, Paris has served to introduce a new tranche of athletes to the pressure of the biggest stage.
Beyond the medals though, Paris will be remembered for other reasons. 
The Parisian crowd brought full enthusiasm to the venues, creating an atmosphere of thunderous support for every competitor. Athletes who debuted at the Tokyo 2020 Games during the Covid era, like Para cyclists Nicole Murray and Anna Taylor, have now had the full Games experience, in front of roaring crowds and friends and family. (One day, we may see packed venues at Para sport internationals outside the Paralympics, but it still doesn’t often happen today).
Para athletics has contributed the greatest number of Kiwi Paralympians over the past 56 years, and the greatest number of medals. Paris 2024 did not disappoint, with six of New Zealand’s nine medals coming from Stade de France.
New Zealand’s Para cycling team were struck a cruel blow when two of the men, Ben Westenberg and Devon Briggs, crashed in their final training race before Paris. But strong performances from Anna Taylor and Nicole Murray made up for the disappointment.
There was no medal glory in Para swimming this time around, but it heralded a new wave of young female talent to look out for at future Games.
Holly Robinson, our most experienced female Paralympian at these Games, found the experience electrifying.
“The atmosphere is amazing. We haven’t seen crowds like this since London,” the shot put bronze medallist says.
“Back then, I was young and overwhelmed by them. This time around I was able to soak it in. We didn’t get to build team culture in Tokyo because of Covid. This time it’s truly one team, one spirit. It’s been awesome to watch our teammates in the other sports.”
The experience was a wonderful one for debutant Para swimmer Gabriella Smith. “The crowd say your name, they are screaming at you, it takes your breath away. Even though I am not from France, the crowd don’t care, they are happy to support you no matter what. It was a breathtaking experience,” she says.
And even without the doyenne of Kiwi Para sport, Dame Sophie Pascoe, dominating in the pool, our wāhine continue to demonstrate how thrilling women’s sport is. 
Let’s take a look at how they did.
Opening ceremony flagbearer Grimaldi was gutted not to defend her double Paralympic title in long jump, but redemption was hers in the sprints. The Ōtepoti Dunedin athlete has come to prominence in sprinting only in the past couple of years of her long career. She was thrilled to claim bronze in Paris in the 100m, but it was the 200m where she topped the podium with a dominant victory. Picking up Aotearoa’s first gold medal of the Paralympics on the penultimate day of competition, Grimaldi’s joy and surprise was obvious.
Aitchison, 22, set a T36 200m world record shortly before the Paralympics, and went into Paris in the form of her life. The sprinter upped her Tokyo haul of bronze and silver, to claim two silvers – first in the 200m, then the 100m. Each of these events was a nail-biting faceoff with her longstanding rival Yiting Shi of China. It took new Paralympic records from Shi in both races to defeat Aitchison – by 0.14s in the 200m and an achingly close 0.04s in the 100m.
This West Coast F46 athlete had the opportunity to not only defend her Tokyo javelin title, but to return to the shot put, which was introduced to the programme for Paris for F46 athletes. Robinson was devastated not to defend her javelin title, finishing sixth after only one recorded throw. But a shiny shot put bronze medal was more than a consolation. The 29-year-old had signalled for some time that this would be her last javelin competition; now she will explore what a future in shot looks like.
The 24-year-old Steven contested the T64 200m sprint, with her season-best time of 29.13s in the heat allowing her to advance to the final. The Aucklander placed eighth – matching her result from Tokyo 2020.
The dark clouds of injury and illness finally cleared for Para cyclist Taylor in March, and she had the dream run-up to Paris. The Cambridge 33-year-old showed exactly what she’s capable of when healthy, seizing silver in the 3km C4 individual pursuit – an event where she’d placed fifth in Tokyo. Taylor also competed in the individual time trial on the road, finishing seventh.
A versatile track-and-road Para cyclist, Murray went into Paris having claimed three world titles since her Tokyo Games debut. The Waikato 31-year-old was thrilled to claim her first Paralympic medal – bronze in the 3km C5 individual pursuit. It was a strong all-round performance from Murray, who also placed fifth in the 500m time trial on the track and fourth in the time trial on the road.
In her preferred event, the S8 100m backstroke, Neiufi just missed out on the final – a disappointment for the Tokyo gold medallist. She was once again just outside the finalists in the 50m freestyle. The Tongan athlete put a brave face, saying, “This was about trying to get that redemption for myself and making sure I felt better after I hop out of the pool. I’m proud to make it here because I had a lot of things going on in my life outside of the pool.”
The youngest member of the Paralympic team did Aotearoa proud on her debut in the pool, making the finals in two of her three events, the SM10 individual medley – finishing eighth – and the SB9 breaststroke, placing seventh. The 18-year-old sheared 0.86s from her lifetime best in the medley.
Christchurch 19-year-old Mason made her Paralympic debut in the S10 butterfly and freestyle. She delivered a performance close to her personal best time in the butterfly, not quite making the final. Her freestyle heat also wasn’t enough to make the final. Frustrated with her performance, she found it “super exciting to be in a field with a lot of talented competitors, and I’m excited to see where I go from here.”
Paris 2024 marked NZ’s return to Paralympic dressage, with Levin athlete Duncan and her horse Showcase BC contesting the individual Para Grand Prix event at the Palace of Versailles. She earned praise for a strong first half, finishing 13th – not enough to make the eight-strong final. She described the atmosphere as electric and the experience “a huge honour.” 
O’Neill was the second Kiwi woman to ever contest shooting Para sport at a Paralympics, and on a mission to show women – and especially of colour – that shooting is the ultimate inclusive sport. She may not have medalled in her Paralympic debut – finishing a creditable 10th in the air pistol, and 21st in the air rifle the following day – but her visibility will have done wonders for representation in the sport.