Scotland's Paralympians congratulated

As the Paralympic Games in Rio come to a close this evening, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has paid tribute to the hard work and dedication of all athletes who competed.

Scottish competitors taking part individually or in team events secured five gold medals, eight silver medals and four bronze medals – exceeding their tally from London 2012.

Libby Clegg won two golds in athletics while Jo Butterfield took gold in the club throw, Karen Darke won cycling gold and Gordon Reid won gold and silver in wheelchair tennis.

Maria Lyle won silver and two bronze in athletics, and Andrew Mullen won one silver and two bronze in the pool.

Stef Reid, Neil Fachie, Scott Quin, Alison Patrick and guide Hazel Smith, and Abby Kane, the youngest athlete on ParalympicsGB, all won silver medals.

Libby Clegg and Jo Butterfield set world records during the Games while Libby, Jo and Scott Quin all set Paralympic records. A number of the Scots on ParalympicsGB also set personal best times during the competition.

The First Minister said: “The dedication of our Paralympic athletes is truly inspiring and I am delighted that they have been so well rewarded for their efforts.

“There is no higher honour than competing on a global stage and all of our sportsmen and women have done Scotland proud as part of ParalympicsGB, who’ve been fantastic from start to finish.

“There have been heroic efforts throughout the team and I hope they’ll motivate others to take up sport and enjoy all the benefits it can bring.

“Our athletes have done themselves and their country proud and I’m sure they’ll receive a rapturous welcome when they get home to Scotland. I hope they the take time to enjoy the celebrations with their friends, family and the public in the days ahead.”

Backed by Scottish Government and Lottery investment, sportscotland, the national agency for sport, has implemented a world-class performance system in Scotland. The collaborative approach between the athletes, sports, coaches, Scottish Disability Sport, the experts at the sportscotland institute of sport and our partners at ParalympicsGB, has delivered outstanding success on the global stage.

sportscotland Chair, Mel Young, said: “This has been a fantastic Games for ParalympicsGB and we are delighted at the significant contribution that the Scots on the team have made to the success of the team.

“While we celebrate the achievements of established names in Para-sport like Neil Fachie and Libby Clegg, it is so exciting to see the number of new athletes who have risen to the occasion and made their mark on Scotland’s sporting history, with the promise of more to come.

“Ahead of these Games sportscotland set key targets: the most Scots on the team since the inception of the sportscotland institute of sport in 1998, Scots in the highest number of sports since 1998, and winning more medals than we won at the home Games in London four years ago. It is testament not only to the achievements of the athletes, but also of the strength of the high performance system in Scotland and the collaboration of all the partners involved, that we have exceeded all of those targets.

“We now look forward to sharing in the success of the Scots on ParalympicsGB and Team GB on a day of celebration in Edinburgh on 28 September.”