Games for movement artists

That sense of wonder returns. Jeferson da Conceição Gonçalves, the player wearing the number seven, controls the ball with his foot. He taps it left, right, left and then shoots at goal. Some of those watching on are left with the popcorn hanging in front of their gaping mouths. They cannot believe what they are seeing. Jefinho, as he is known for short, has been blind since the seventh year of his life but he learned how to play football three years later. Now, his country has hailed him as the Pele of the Paralympics. Jefinho and the blind Brazilian football team won gold on Saturday.

And as they did so, tens of thousands flooded through the Barra Olympic park. School groups, couples, three generations of families - they were all there, visiting concerts, taking photos, trying their hand at sitting volleyball or wheelchair basketball. In the last two weeks, the people of Rio have had their hearts captured by the efforts of many athletes who don't normally make the headlines. Jefinho, the blind Pele. Felipe Gomes, the fierce runner from the favelas. Antonio Leme, the impressive Boccia player with spasticity. Abusive chants, that were clear to hear against Brazilian opponents during the Olympics, were not in the air.

IOC President Bach remained distant

"These experiences will long continue to have an effect," said Philip Craven, the President of the International Paralympic Committe (IPC). "These Paralympic Games were the Games of the people." Five weeks earlier, the first Paralympic Games in South America looked to be cancelled as the crisis-ridden Rio needed everything it had for the Olympics. Yet, the organisers improvised. They received an emergency loan, offered cheap tickets and started promotion campaigns. Ticket sales jumped from 300,000 to over two million. Big delegates such as Australia paid in advance for unpaid travel grants for small, island nations. Soon, no one was complaining about a lack of organization.

Perhaps it would have done IOC President Thomas Bach good to have followed these Games closely, but unlike his predecessors Bach did not attend the Paralympics. Bach denied that his absence had anything to do with the black-market scandal surrounding Patrick Hickey. The Irish IOC member was arrested during the Olympics and was refused departure from Brazil. Apparently, the police also have questions for Bach. His absence also suggests that there's tension between the IOC and the IPC. The two associations had different reactions to Russia's state doping scandal. The IOC allowed the Russian team to compete at the Olympics, while the IPC banned the entire Russian team out of the Paralympics.

Records met skeptically

Philip Craven wanted to send a message against doping. But this message was put into context after it was revealed the IPC only completed 1,500 urine and blood tests in Rio. That means that not even a third of the 4,300 athletes would have been tested. That left many excellent performances, those of the Chinese for example, to be met with skepticism. China has dominated the medals table in the summer Paralympics since 2004. In Rio, the Chinese won 237 medals, 105 of which were gold.

Other athletes also regularly broke world records. Positively put, disabled sport is not at the end of its development in terms of biomechanics and training methods. On the other hand, there could be manipulation at play, that the simple structure of the IPC cannot grasp. In this record haul, Germany were near the top, picking up 57 medals, including 18 golds - overall sixth in the table. Four years ago in London, the total was 66, but included 18 golds (good enough for eighth).

Favela violence shows no sign of ending

Such statistics will soon be irrelevant for the locals. Soon, the summer will arrive and with it will come an influx of mosquitoes, perhaps even accompanied by the Zika virus. Many of the 85,000 security personnel who turned the Olympics and the Paralympics into a safety zone, are taking their overtime. What does this mean for the violence between drug gangs in the favelas? Even during the Paralympics there were murders, notably in the Complexo do Alemão, only a few kilometers from the Olympics stadium.

These organizations believe in a positive legacy from these Games. Around two thirds of citizens are connected through new metro and bus lines. The well-to-do citizens in the south of Rio have profited from such developments, while the poorer north has not. Bankruptcy still threatens the state of Rio de Janeiro. What long-term consequences will the cost of the Olympics and Paralympics have on health care and education?

Barra's Olympic park is to be turned into a competitive sports centre, with extensive access. Some Olympic facilities will be degraded. "There is a connection between the Paralympic spirit and the spirit of Carioca," said IPC President Philip Craven. If Jefinho is applauded as much in Tokyo in 2020 as he was in Brazil, perhaps even in front of the television screens in Rio, then Craven will have been proven right.