Rio 2016 that saw two Bermudians compete has topped the list of the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) "Top 50 moments of 2016" despite a tumultuous build-up to the event described as the "worst they have faced" by President Sir Philip Craven.
Boccia competitor Yushae DeSilva-Andrade and Track competitor Jessica Lewis took part in Rio.
The IPC outlined several reasons why the Rio 2016 Paralympics were their top moment of the year, including "people power", world-class performances and global reach.
"Few will forget the Rio 2016 Paralympics," the IPC said in announcing the event had finished at the summit of their poll.
"Despite a number of issues in the lead-up, Latin America’s first Paralympics will be remembered as the People’s Games, a sporting festival that arguably did more for the Paralympic Movement than any previous edition."
Serious concerns over the state of preparations for this year’s Paralympic Games were raised by the IPC, with growing speculation that the event may not even take place as planned due to financial issues in Brazil just weeks before the Opening Ceremony in September.
insidethegames understands that Rio 2016 chief executive Sidney Levy called IPC counterpart Xavier Gonzalez four weeks before the Opening Ceremony in order to tell them they had no money to organise the Games.
At this stage, they had already missed a deadline to pay the first installment of $4.3 million (£3.5 million/€4.1 million).
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