The British team won medals across 18 sports and finished second behind China on the medal table with 124 medals overall, including 41 gold, 38 silver and 45 bronze.

Chef de Mission Penny Briscoe OBE said: “I am so proud of what all of our 226 athletes here in Tokyo have achieved over the last 12 days of competition.

“The team came into these Games after an extremely difficult 18 months as the COVID pandemic brought the world to a standstill. Never before has ParalympicsGB faced such a complex and demanding Games environment – the phenomenal determination and resilience of athletes and staff throughout this period has been remarkable and we couldn’t have achieved all that we did without the invaluable support of The National Lottery players.

“To finish second on the medal table, with more medals overall than the total number we won at our home Games in London nine years ago, is a fantastic achievement.

“ParalympicsGB’s traditionally strong sports, such as cycling, rowing and equestrian, once again proved to be the best in the world but we also had best performances this century from the likes of our wheelchair fencing, judo and table tennis squads.”

Every member of ParalympicsGB’s 20-strong cycling squad won medals in Tokyo, spearheaded by Dame Sarah Storey who became Great Britain’s most successful Paralympian of all time, winning three events to reach 17 golds in a stunning career.

In the dressage arena, Sir Lee Pearson moved to third on the all-time list of ParalympicsGB medallists with three golds in Tokyo – and his 14th across five Games. Joining the 47-year-old on the podium was Georgia Wilson, one of 48 Games debutants in the ParalympicsGB team who return home with silverware. Swimmer Reece Dunn won no fewer than five medals – three golds, a silver and a bronze – making him the most decorated athlete in the ParalympicsGB squad for the Tokyo 2020 Games.

There were medals too for British athletes in taekwondo and badminton, new additions to the Paralympic programme for Tokyo 2020 as Beth Munro, Amy Truesdale, Dan Bethell and Krysten Coombs all reached the podium.

ParalympicGB’s wheelchair rugby team struck gold for the first time at their sixth Games, beating three-time champions the USA 54-49 in a thrilling final. Kylie Grimes, the sole female in the British squad, also made history as she became the first woman to win wheelchair rugby gold.

Experience also paid off for table tennis player Sue Bailey who, after competing at six Paralympic Games, secured her first Paralympic medal alongside teammate Megan Shackleton. Para canoe’s Jeanette Chippington was ParalympicGB’s oldest medallist with bronze out on the water in the women’s VL2 event. The 51-year-old first pulled on the British vest at Seoul 1988 in a remarkable Paralympic career that has spanned five decades.

Meanwhile 17-year-old swimmer Ellie Challis, ParalympicGB’s youngest athlete in Tokyo, exemplified the star quality of the next generation of young athletes with silver in the women’s 50m backstroke (S3).

Summing up the performance of the team over the last 12 days, Briscoe said: “The performance of the athletes will live long in the memory and their impact will transcend these Games – inspiring the next generation, giving hope and happiness, and positively influencing change through what they have delivered on and off the field of play.

“These have been a memorable Games in so many ways and the entire ParalympicsGB team has been overwhelmed by the hospitality and generosity of the Japanese people. In the Village and at every venue, the Tokyo 2020 volunteers have been incredibly welcoming to our athletes and support staff and as a team we would like to say thank you for all they and the Tokyo 2020 organisers have done.

“We are humbled by the experience and proud of our contribution towards a safe, secure and successful Paralympic Games. Arigato Japan.”

Courtesy of ParalympicsGB

The 32-year-old added to yesterday’s performance from Beth Munro, who became Britain’s first medallist in a sport which is making its Paralympics debut in Japan.

Truesdale went down 60-14 to fifth seed Guljonoy Naimova of Uzbekistan in the semi-finals having earlier beaten Rajae Akermach in her first contest of the day.

But she picked herself up following the semi-final setback and beat Iranian Rayeheh Shahab 41-31 to take her place on the podium and continue an historic week of taekwondo for ParalympicsGB.

“I am obviously disappointed with the result, but I am delighted I got a bronze medal,” said Truesdale.

“I think it is amazing for the sport in our country so I’m still very pleased with the bronze medal.

“I have beat Naimova many times before, it was just one of those things.

“I allowed her to take more shots on me and just didn’t push through it unfortunately.

“I have the technical and tactical ability, but just didn’t use it on that match.

“I am still pleased. Going back with a bronze medal will create more opportunities for other athletes.

“It has been an amazing experience. It is the biggest competition I will ever do in my life, so I am glad to be a part of it and have secured a medal.”

Joseph Lane was also in action for ParalympicsGB in the men’s K44 +75kg competition.

Despite a brave effort, the London-born fighter suffered defeat in the round of 16 against Russian Paralympic Committee’s Zainutdin Ataev, going down 36-5.

That sent him into the repechage quarter-final where his maiden Paralympic experience came to an end with defeat to Libya’s Mohamed Abidar.

After earning a late call-up as a replacement for the injured Matt Bush, Lane knows he’ll be better for the Paralympic experience.

“I found out the day before we flew out that I was going to be competing. I was in Sainsbury’s and got the call telling me my flight was booked,” he explained.

“It’s been a really good experience, one of the best of my life.

“I was deeply saddened that my teammate Matt wasn’t able to compete.

“I’m pretty upset that I couldn’t bring home the medal for him. We started the journey together and we’ve grown together.

“It was both of our hard work put in to get here. He was the one who qualified, but was gutted for me missing out first time around.

“I’d like to say a big thanks to Matt for all his support and believing in me. I wish him well in his recovery.”

Courtesy of ParalympicsGB 

Cockroft took nearly 12 seconds off her Paralympic record from five years ago but her time of 1:48.99 was just fractions slower than her world best from Switzerland earlier this year, with team-mate Kare Adenegan taking silver.

The seven-time Paralympic champion raced with a bandaged right hand after an accident during warm up when her hand slipped and went through the spokes of her chair.

“I’m absolutely gutted,” Cockroft joked. “I was so close that to world record, I couldn’t have got closer if I’d tried.

“I’m really happy with gold but I’m obviously a bit frustrated I couldn’t quite squeeze under that time but to go close on a rainy day.

“I did that time in Switzerland on the fastest track in the world so to come here and replicate it, I’ve got to be proud.

“I put my hand through the wheel while the chair was moving, I’ve never ever done that but I decided to do it today. It was pretty bloody but it’s fine.”

Adenegan set a new 1:59.85 personal best to hold off American Alexa Halko to claim silver, matching her medal behind Cockroft in the 100m. Team-mate Fabienne Andre came fourth.

“I’m so happy with a personal best and to go sub two minutes for the first time on the international stage, I raced it by myself as well,” said Adenegan.

“At the World Championships it was a super close race between myself and Alexa but that was a really comfortable second place.

“I did what I expected and wanted here and to get two season’s bests when it matters and it shows that all the hard work to peak on time paid off. It’s been a really tough couple of years for all of us, so I’m really pleased with how I performed.”

However, there was disappointment for T13 long jumper Zak Skinner, who was in the bronze medal position heading into the sixth and final round.

He then had to watch as American Isaac Jean-Paul bettered his best jump by just two centimetres, relegating the European champion to fourth with a best effort of 6.91 metres.

“That’s tough to take, sport is cruel but I could have done the same thing to him. It just hurts, even when he jumped that I still thought I had it in,” he said.

“I just wasn’t able to manage it on the big stage and I wasn’t good enough. I’m going to use this to fuel the fire because I don’t ever want to feel like this again.”

Elsewhere, Isaac Towers and Ben Rowlings finished seventh and eighth in the men’s 800m T34 final.

Courtesy of ParalympicsGB

Munro took her place on the K44 -58kg podium after Denmark’s Lisa Gjessing’s experience proved to be the difference, winning all three rounds with a total scoreline of 32-14 in the gold-medal contest.

The 28-year-old Munro only took up para taekwondo in 2019 but her unfailing commitment and dedication to the sport in the months since paid dividends at her first Paralympics, progressing through the rounds with convincing wins.

Munro’s silver secured ParalympicsGB a medal in a 16th different sport at Tokyo 2020 – the first time the feat has been achieved by any nation in one single Games.

“The journey that I’ve been on has been so short so to come away with a silver medal as a Paralympian – I’m on cloud nine,” she said.

“I probably haven’t let it sink in until properly now. It’s been such a fast-paced journey. The fact I’ve won a medal, I’ve got goosebumps, the fact that I’m actually here.

“I’m very happy to be here and onwards and upwards to Paris in 2024.

“I’m a little bit disappointed with the outcome of the final.

“I probably let it get away from me in the first round and tried to play catch up the rest of the way, but I’m ecstatic with a silver.”

Munro enjoyed an unstoppable morning, overcoming Nepal’s Palesha Goverdhan 21-8 in the round of 16, before defeating Turkey’s Gamze Gurdal 34-22 in the last eight.

The Liverpudlian wasn’t done yet, seeing off Li Yujie 34-25 in the semi-finals at the start of the final session of the day, but faced her toughest contest against Gjessing for the gold medal in the K44 -58kg class.

A four-time world and three-time European champion, Gjessing was always going to be an incredibly challenging competitor for the ‘newbie’ Munro – but there is still more to come in Paris.

She added: “Lisa’s a fantastic athlete. She’s been doing it for years and having the privilege to come up against her and compete has been fantastic. Kudos for winning. She thoroughly deserved it.

“Next time – that’s all I can say. Today she came out on top so very well done for her and it’s fantastic.

“I’m happy with a silver medal and am targeting Paris 2024.”

Saturday will see Munro’s ParalympicsGB teammates Amy Truesdale and Joseph Lane attempt to match Munro’s podium success, with Truesdale in the K44 +58kg class, and Lane in the men’s K44 +75kg competition.

Courtesy of ParalympicsGB

Whiley already holds two bronze medals alongside Lucy Shuker but now has an individual honour to go alongside doubles success, in her first Games since giving birth to son Jackson.

The 29-year-old has already confirmed that Tokyo 2020 will be her last Paralympics and has made sure she will go out in style with an intense 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4 win over the Netherlands’ Aniek van Koot.

The tears immediately started flowing for Whiley as the final point was won, revelling in her new slice of ParalympicsGB history.

“I just said to myself at the end, ‘I did it.’ Obviously it’s not gold, but for me, this feels like gold,” she said.

“I’ve never done this before and given everything that’s happened in the last two years, came back, had a baby and struggled with getting back to fitness.

“Before I had Jackson, I was injured 24/7 and to get my body in a state where it can compete at the top level, I’m really proud of myself.

“She gave me everything today, both of us left everything out on the court. We were very neck-and-neck, that match could have gone either way. I just kept fighting.

“I was using my reserve tank, everything emotionally. I’ve never been on a singles podium and that was a really nerve-wracking experience. It’s such an amazing achievement for me personally.

“This is the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.”

But Whiley is far from done there, joining forces with Shuker to face Van Koot and Diede de Groot in Saturday’s gold-medal match.

The two are already guaranteed silver – their best Paralympic result as a pair – but the prospect of gold remains a tantalising one for Whiley.

“Just one more match and I’m going to give it absolutely everything again,” she added.

“She [Van Koot] is going to come at us all guns blazing, I expect. They’re an amazing team, they’re number one in the world for a reason.

“We’ve played them many times, so we know what to expect. We’ve just got to be on our A game.”

A dejected Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett missed out on gold but have another men’s doubles Paralympic silver to celebrate.

The British duo were top seeds in Tokyo but missed out 7-5, 0-6, 7-6(3) to Stéphane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer in a repeat of the Rio 2016 Paralympic final.

Reid and Hewett were up against it following the first set. But they stormed back, winning nine games in a row to hold the advantage in the decider before their French opponents recovered to win gold.

Reid said: “We’re devastated right now; we came here with one job to do and that was to win the gold.

“We both believed we were going to do it, we came in with brilliant form and tried so hard to change it from five years ago.

“It’s going to take a while for it to sink in, I’m just proud of the way we fought to the end. We backed each other up the whole way through the match. We win together, we lose together.”

The two aren’t done yet with one of them guaranteed to leave Tokyo with a Paralympic medal when they face off in Saturday’s men’s singles bronze-medal match.

Hewett added: “It’s a tough one to take. It’s so fresh right now – we couldn’t have asked for better form coming into this event, and some of the matches we’ve played this week have been close to our best tennis.

“I haven’t really thought about the singles yet. The emotion of that match was overwhelming, I think we both feel pretty deflated and flat and rightly so.

“It’ll be tough to pick ourselves up but there is a bronze medal on the line, there’s a lot still at stake.”

Peacock and Clegg joined forces with Ali Smith and Nathan Maguire as ParalympicsGB finished third in the universal 4x100m relay, a performance later upgraded after China were disqualified.

“To be a part of Libby’s last race and get a medal with her is just incredible,” said Peacock, a bronze medallist in the men’s 100m T64.

“She’s not talked about it but she’s run through so much pain at these Games and those were not easy legs for her. She gritted her teeth and got us a medal, I’m so proud.

“It’s a very different event and it showcases the best of everyone. It’s good fun to watch, not something you’d see at your average athletics meet and hopefully something you’ll see more of.”

Clegg paid tribute to guide Chris Clarke and said this medal trumped her double gold in Rio.

“I’m so privileged and proud to be a part of this team and share this moment with these guys,” she said.

“Right now this is my proudest moment – being part of this team.

“I’m going to take some time out but this is my last running competition, unless I dabble in a sports day when my son is at primary school.

“To end my athletics career with this medal is a dream come true.”

Meanwhile, Richard Whitehead won 200m T61 silver behind 19-year-old South African Ntando Mahlangu, with the two sharing a heartfelt moment after crossing the line.

“He’s 19, I’m 45. Age is but a number right? The thing with sport and Paralympic sport, it is not about classification, it is about legacy,” said Whitehead, the gold medallist from London and Rio.

“As well as a medal, it is about representing my country and setting an example for the next generation, guiding them through right and wrong and what Paralympic sport really means.”

Hollie Arnold admitted the conditions, with driving rain making throwing difficult, didn’t help her title defence as she took bronze in the women’s javelin F46.

“They were really tough conditions out there but we are all in the same boat,” said the four-time world champion.

“Even though I’m on the podium, it’s not where I want to be, I wanted the gold. But I have made the podium and I have to be proud of that. It’s been a long five years since Rio, but there is so much more to come which is the exciting thing.

“I’ll come away from this and go through the thought process and come back stronger, I’ll be ready to fight next year.”

Jo Butterfield threw a season’s best 21.77 metres but finished just outside the medals in the women’s club throw F51 in fourth.

Kadeena Cox, already a double gold medallist in cycling’s velodrome in Tokyo, set a season’s best 1:02.51 to qualify for the women’s 400m T38 final, where she’ll be joined by team-mate Smith on Saturday evening.

Courtesy of ParalympicsGB

World champions Unwin and Holl kept up with the leaders around the gruelling Fuji International Speedway course, only briefly dropping off the back of a breakaway made by Katie-George Dunlevy of Ireland and Sweden’s Louise Jannering.

Dunlevy and pilot Eve McCrystal sprinted away in the final stretch to claim their second gold of the Games, while Unwin pipped the Swedes on the line to add silver to their individual pursuit bronze on the track.

“It was a really tough race right from the start,” said 27-year-old Unwin.

“The descents were really hard, but we managed to get down them and once we were in that front group, we just aimed to stick in that group as long as we can and it worked for us.

“We weren’t expecting to come to this Games, so to come away with two medals is just incredible.”

ParalympicsGB teammate Lora Fachie, with her guide Corrine Hall, suffered an early mechanical issue that saw them over two minutes down after the first 13.2km lap.

The pair clawed some of the advantage back eventually joining up with fourth-placed Poland’s Justyna Kiryla to close the gap to 13 seconds with 66km gone, thanks in part to Unwin’s support up front.

However, Fachie could not push on and came home in fifth, four minutes down on the winners after a valiant effort to get back in the race.

In the men’s C4-5 road race, George Peasgood finished sixth, the first C4 rider to cross the line and did so miming a breaststroke action poking fun at the rainy conditions.

The 25-year-old, who has already claimed a silver in the PTS5 triathlon and a bronze in cycling’s C4 men’s time trial in Tokyo, did not have the pace to keep up with the breakaway of C5 riders.

France’s Kevin le Cunff came away with the gold, with Yehor Dementyev and Daniel Abraham Gebru in silver and bronze, as Peasgood finished 5:22 behind the champion.

Peasgood said: “That was pretty good, coming into it I knew everyone else has done the TT as well and I didn’t feel bad coming into the time trial and didn’t feel bad coming into the road race.

“It was just about going out there, getting in the mix, racing a load of C5 guys so just to try and keep in the mix as much as possible and try not to do too much work too early as well.”

Steve Bate and pliot Adam Duggleby were unable to start the men’s B road race having been forced to pull out of the time trial with a heavy crash.

But the pair still leave Tokyo with silver from the track – with every ParalympicsGB cyclist winning at least one medal in these Games.

Courtesy of ParalympicsGB

Stewart finished two places ahead of ParalympicsGB team-mate Lorraine Lambert in a high-scoring qualification event.

The Blairgowrie shooter scored 1133, just 14 off the eighth and final qualifying spot, while Lambert ended in 15th with a score of 1121.

Both shooters were consistent as they moved through the three positions of kneeling, prone and standing, neither shooting below 90.

Sweden’s Anna Norman qualified with a new qualification world record of 1177, shooting four 100s and never dropping under 94.

“It has been a great experience for me at my first Paralympic Games,” said the 42-year-old Stewart.  “I only qualified for these Games two months ago, so it has been a very quick turnaround from qualification to performing here in Tokyo.

“After three years out with major injury, I am so proud to have made it here and be part of a great team.  This will make me stronger and know more about performing at major Games and I will reflect and learn from the experience.

“The support from the whole team has been immense as has the welcome here in Tokyo.”

For Portsmouth’s Lambert, it was a case of what might have been, though her time in Tokyo is not done yet.

Lambert added: “Today’s performance really does not reflect where I have been in training so I am frustrated that I was not able to be in contention for the final.

“I had a difficult start in the kneeling but pushed through and finished strongly in the standing element so I’m proud that I continued to fight.

“However I have another opportunity to compete in the 50m prone event on Sunday and I am now going to put this behind me and focus fully on that event.”

Courtesy of ParalympicsGB

Wiggs won KL2 gold in Rio after making her Paralympic debut four years earlier as a sitting volleyball player at London 2012.

She will bid to defend that title on Saturday but whatever happens, she has already added another medal to her collection with victory in the VL2 event.

ParalympicsGB team-mate Jeanette Chippington, 51, won a battling bronze to win a medal at her seventh consecutive Games, having first competed as a swimmer at Seoul 1988.

Rob Oliver also made the podium in what could be his final race, winning men’s KL3 bronze following a photo finish.

“I had a wrist injury that I had to have surgery on in 2018,” said Wiggs.

“I had a really rocky nine months of feeling completely lost and probably for the first time in my life I felt disabled, with a little wrist injury.

“The help and support that I got then was really crucial to getting me here today. I’ve learnt so much about myself and I’ve learnt it’s more important that you’re more than just your sport.

“I’d become Emma the canoeist rather than Emma Wiggs the person.

“It’s just amazing to make history and to do it on a podium with Jeanette again is more than we could have dreamt of. And I’ve just heard Rob’s got on the podium which has made me cry again.

“It’s just been a lot of hard work and our team are just incredible. We get the easy bit, we just have to paddle.

“We were off the water for 15 weeks at the start of the pandemic, which impacted my kayak quite a lot. We just adapted, we had stuff at home. I live in a bungalow in the middle of Derbyshire so there’s not much water around. We just made do and we made the most of every day.

“I just decided that I need to put my big-girl pants on and make the most of the extra year. I’m a year older, so it’s not that easy and the youngsters are coming through.”

Chippington’s 14th medal also felt extra special, dedicating it to friends and family watching back home and her father, who passed away last year.

“I felt the pressure,” she said of her bronze, ParalympicsGB’s 100th medal in Tokyo.

“This is my seventh Paralympics and I had medalled at every Games and I thought, ‘Oh my God, is this going to be the Games where I don’t medal?’

“Last year my dad (David) got Covid and passed away and it’s been so hard. My parents came out to every single Games that I’d done.

“I do think he’d be so proud of me, my coach always says when you’re in your race, just imagine your friends and your family are behind you and pushing you that last bit of the race.

“I literally was thinking that and thought my dad, he’s there, just give me an extra little push.”

Oliver was the only member of the ParalympicsGB sprint canoe team not to medal in Rio, which explained his emotion after edging his bronze in a photo finish, especially after battling a stomach strain since arriving in Tokyo.

“I got Covid five weeks ago and it was always touch and go whether I’d even be here,” he revealed.

“It almost took the pressure off, the last 18 months has been so terrible for everyone. I thought what else can go wrong? And then I got Covid and then I got the stomach strain. Just being here and embracing these Games felt enough for me and having that mindset helped.

“Five years ago, before my final I head-butted a wall because mentally I wasn’t tough enough, I couldn’t handle the pressure of it. This time around being a dad has grounded me a lot and this is just me enjoying my sport.

“It was hard being the only one with without a medal in Rio. I was almost ready for it here in case it didn’t happen again.

“I’m the only person without a billboard at the training centre. It was very hard, especially in that first year, but I stuck with it.”

Courtesy of ParalympicsGB

The ParalympicsGB pair are guaranteed at least a silver medal thanks to a straight-sets semi-final win over China’s Wang Ziying and Zhu Zhenzhen, making the most of their second-seed status to win 6-4 6-2.

But neither Whiley nor Shuker are here to settle for the middle spot on the podium.

No nation other than the Netherlands have won gold in either the women’s singles or women’s doubles at a Paralympic Games.

But when they face Dutch duo Diede de Groot and Aniek van Koot on Saturday, the British duo – bronze medallists at both London 2012 and Rio 2016 – will have history on their mind.

“I think it’s a dream come true,” said Shuker of the gold-medal match. “Having won two bronzes in the previous Games is an achievement in itself.

“I think we’ve always been dreaming about having a gold or silver and we just put ourselves in the best place possible – we’re in the match.

“I’m just buzzing that we’ve done it together as a team. We’ve worked so hard together during that match and training.”

Whiley in particular will have had plenty of experience against her doubles opponents by the time they meet at the Ariake Tennis Park.

De Groot was victorious when the two played their singles semi-final while Friday’s contest with van Koot will decide who wins the bronze medal.

“It’s going to be a tough match – we know that. We’re ready for the challenge,” said Whiley.

“We’re in a great place and we’re playing really great tennis. We’re in the best place possible. We have the opportunity to win gold and we’re just going to do our best and leave it all out on the court.

“In Tokyo, we’re older and wiser and we’ve played almost 12 years together so I feel like now is our time.”

ParalympicsGB are guaranteed another two wheelchair tennis medals with Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid teaming up in the doubles before playing each for bronze in the men’s singles.

Reid was defending Paralympic singles champion from Rio 2016 but couldn’t get the better of top seed and tournament favourite Shingo Kunieda, losing out 6-3 6-2 in the last four.

“I think Shingo played amazing,” said Reid. “He played a great match, he gave me nothing cheap, he made me work for every point and unfortunately I couldn’t find the same level of performance as I found yesterday and the rest of the tournament.

“Obviously that’s disappointing but sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say you lost to a better player.

“I’ve been the underdog the last two matches and it was great to get through yesterday and now I’ve got another shot at getting on the podium in a couple of days’ time.”

Hewett was on the wrong end of a 6-4 7-6(5) scoreline against the Netherlands’ Tom Egberink, though the chance of back-to-back Paralympic singles medals remains a possibility.

Before they face off for bronze, Reid and Hewett will team up with an even greater prize in mind as they go for gold in the men’s doubles.

The pair won silver at Rio 2016 and will have a Paralympic rematch when they face defending champions Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer from France.

“We’ll be absolutely buzzing to get out there tomorrow and try and get the opportunity of getting a gold,” said Hewett. “Then we’ll be playing against each other for the bronze so that’ll be tough.

“We know each other very well. Right now, we’re going to try and channel our thoughts to tomorrow’s match because it’s still a big opportunity and we came here to get gold.”

Courtesy of ParalympicsGB