Indigenous athletes have ended their Paralympic campaigns with gold, silver, and both Australian and personal records between them as the 4000-plus competitors bidded farewell to the French capital at Sunday's closing ceremony.
In Paris, Amanda Reid, Samantha Schmidt, Ruby Storm and 16-year-old emerging champion Telaya Blacksmith equalled Australia's record number of First Nations athletes competing, the same as Barcelona in 1992.
On return after climbing the top of the podium in Tokyo, swimmer-turned-cyclist Amanda Reid successfully defended her mantle with another gold in C1-3 500m indoor time trial.
Reid, who held the C2 world (38.162 seconds) and paralympic (38.487, set in Tokyo) record in the event made it consecutive triumphs when crossing the line at a factored time of 38.811 (36.676 factored) at the National Velodrome on day 3.
"To go back-to-back is just absolutely amazing" at her fourth Paralympic Games, something she said "means everything" to be a part of.
"I try not to think about the race too much and just go for it when I ride. It's two laps - just go as fast as I can," Reid said.
In road events, Reid finished 13th in both he C1-3 individual time trial and 42km race.
At her second Paralympics, Ruby Storm made it consecutive silvers in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay S14 in the pool after a second placed finish in Toyko.
It made her a three-time medallist after collecting bronze in the women's 100m butterfly S14 in 2021.
On the track at Stade de France, Telaya Blacksmith wrote history on becoming the country's 16th Indigenous Paralympian when she set an Australian and Oceania records qualifying for the final of the women's 400m sprint T20 during the opening days of competition.
The Warlpiri teen built on her already strong underage CV with a time of 57.96 seconds in her heat before a gritty run during the medal race.
After her eighth place finish, Blacksmith cast an eye ahead for future Games and for what promises to be a storied career.
"Definitely I want to do it again and see what happens from there. It's just amazing that I got to run in the finals…. it's the crowd and adrenalin, it's so much fun," Blacksmith said.
She returned in Saturday's women's long jump T20, carrying a personal best which would have placed her in sixth in Tokyo.
Blacksmith wasn't done setting new standards, eclipsing her own Australian Under 20 record by six centimetres jumping 5.21 metres for a top 10 finish in the final.
"It was amazing out there, an extraordinary experience and I'm very proud of what I achieved," she said, via Athletics Australia.
"It's an amazing thing to travel all this way and perform my best and make a show for everyone in the stands and at home, it's fun.
"I'll be back in LA 2028, I'll make sure of it."
On Saturday, Samantha Schmidt threw a season-best 33.05 metres with her third attempt in the F38 women's discus final.
Schmidt came into her second Paralympics after ranking 6th in Tokyo and a top 10 finish at the recent World Championships.
In all, 17 Indigenous athletes competed in Paris across the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with seven debutants amongst the cohort.
