ParalympicsGB leave Rio today with eleven athletes from Loughborough College winning ten medals, half of them gold.
Outstanding performances across eleven days of competition included Loughborough College student Sophie Thornhill who kicked off a day two gold rush for the College alongside pilot Helen Scott at the velodrome when they smashed the Paralympic record with their women’s B 1000 m time trial win.
Fellow College athlete Sophie Hahn went on to scoop gold in the 100m T37 final - completing a full set of major international titles for the 19 year old - before Libby Clegg claimed gold in her 100m T11 final.
Ellie Simmonds secured gold in the 200m individual medley SM6, the fifth Paralympic gold of her career, on day five. The former College student became the first SM6 swimmer to dip below three minutes in the event as she clocked a world record 2:59.81.
The gold rush for Paralympics GB athletes from Loughborough College in Rio continued as former student Libby Clegg powered to an impressive sprint double with a victory in the 200m T11 final with guide Chris Clarke.
After winning gold in the 100m T38, Sophie Hahn struck silver for ParalympicsGB and Loughborough College in a British record-breaking relay with the women’s 4x100m F35-38 squad of Kadeena Cox, Maria Lyle and Georgina Hermitage.
The first weekend of the Games saw Sophie Thornhill scoop her second Paralympic medal with pilot Helen Scott when they won bronze in the B 3000m individual pursuit.
It was another bronze to add to a Rio gold for Ellie Simmonds when she finished behind Ukraine and China in the 400m freestyle SM6 – an event she won at only 13 in Beijing and won again in 2012.
For Loughborough College athletes Ross Wilson and Aaron McKibbin it was a repeat of 2012 as the men’s table tennis team clinched bronze on day nine in Rio. The trio of Wilson, McKibbin and Will Bayley, the same team that competed four years ago in the class 6-8, secured a second successive Paralympic Games bronze with a 2-1 victory in a nail-biting clash against China.
George Peasgood declared himself happy with a historic triathlon as the sport made its Games debut in Rio. Loughborough College student Peasgood finished seventh in the PT4 race over the demanding course around the iconic Copacabana beach. The 20-year old former world bronze medallist was leading after the swim and bike but fell back on the run.
One of the youngest athletes at the London Paralympics when she represented Great Britain in the sitting volleyball, 17 year old Loughborough College student Julie Rogers made her return to the Games to compete in the T42 100m – but narrowly missed out in a place in the final after finishing fifth in the first of two heats in a time of 17.41.
Loughborough College athlete Olivia Breen crossed the line in a time of 13.41 in the 100m T38 final to finish in seventh place – with teammate and fellow College student Sophie Hahn winning gold - and in the T38 long jump final came 12th with a best leap of 3.99m.
Two-time Paralympic judo medallist and former Loughborough College student Sam Ingram lost his bronze medal fight in the -90kg class in Rio. Elsewhere it was a second round exit for former Loughborough College Sports Science degree student David Phillipson in the singles and doubles wheelchair tennis.
ParalympicsGB depart Rio on Monday 19 September and land back in the UK on Tuesday 20 September.
They return from Rio with 64 gold medals - the most gold medals and indeed most medals of any British Paralympic team since Seoul 1988.
ParalympicsGB passed the 121 medal target set by UK Sport, eventually finishing with 64 golds, 39 silvers and 44 bronzes, a total of 147 medals - a result which sees the team finish second in the table behind China.
In doing so, the team has now won gold medals in 11 sports – this matches China in 2008 as the highest number in Paralympic history.
Additionally, ParalympicsGB secured medals in 15 sports – a feat which equals the record previously held by the USA from Athens 2004 as the greatest ever in one Games.
Across ParalympicsGB, the team have broken 49 Paralympic and 27 World Records.
Pictured: The closing ceremony of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, starting the countdown to Tokyo in 2020 (onEdition)