RIO DE JANEIRO -- At the Riocentro Pavilion 3, the only sound in the table tennis arena was a steady tapping as the two competitors in the gold medal match struggled for points.On one side of the table was Xue Juan. On the other, Li Qian. Both Chinese Paralympians in wheelchairs. Their match was one of two to decide a gold medal on Monday that featured athletes from China only.After Xue defeated Li, and Zhang Bian beat Gu Gai in the later match, each winner quietly acknowledged the victory, wheeled to the middle of the table and shook the hand of her countrywoman.There were no screaming fans, and little celebration. But in Rio, the scene has become routine, across the menu of sports. China is dominating the Paralympics.After competition ended on Tuesday, China held a huge lead at the top of the board with 147 total medals (63 golds) through six days of competition. The next closest country, the United Kingdom, had 75 medals in all.The Ukraine (72) was next with the United States (61) in fourth and host Brazil (43) in fifth.China has topped the medal board in the last three Summer Paralympics, beginning at the 2004 Athens Games.This year, China has more than 300 athletes, a physical representation of the countrys commitment to keeping its spot as a Paralympic powerhouse, but it can also be seen as a strategy: More athletes competing means more opportunities to collect medals.This was evident soon after China stepped foot on Brazilian soil. Last Friday, China won 14 medals in swimming, including two all-China podiums in mens 50- and 100-meter butterfly races. The victories have not stopped.Some athletes, however, have been raising questions about Chinas dominance in Rio.Philip Craven, the International Paralympic Committee president, was asked at a news conference on Monday about complaints that Brazilian competitors had been making about potential cheating by Chinese athletes.We had a very informal, short board meeting this morning of the IPC and that issue was brought up to us and it is something that we will look into in the future, not to do necessarily with doping, we always look into that anyway, but with regard to what particularly the Brazilian athletes are thinking and saying, Craven said.A spokesman for the IPC later said Craven was referring primarily to whether some Chinese athletes had been classified properly. Russia was banned from Rio for systematic doping, raising suspicion about cheating generally.The Paralympic Games, which date back to an English competition in 1948 and became the Paralympics in 1960, were once an event in which the United States routinely topped the medal count.The U.S. finished first in medals for nine consecutive Paralympics from 1964 to 1996. China, meanwhile, did not begin sending athletes to the Paralympics until the 1984 Games.The 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games were awarded in 2001 to Beijing over four other cities. Three years later, at the 2004 Athens Games, China not only cracked the top five in total medals for the first time but also placed first.Penny Briscoe, the British chef de mission in Rio, said the value in winning a bid to host the Summer Games cannot be underestimated in relation to the development of sport for the Paralympics.Briscoe recalled jumping and screaming alone in her house when London was announced as the host city for 2012. Even though the UK was the home of the Paralympic Movement, and had already seen success in the past, winning the bid to host the Summer Games led to an increased focus on the Paralympics.It was massive and such a morale boost, Briscoe said in a phone interview. It gave everyone maybe more sense of purpose than any other four years.Matt Cramer, director of high performance for United States Paralympics, said the U.S. often has different challenges than some of the other high profile names atop the Paralympic leaderboard.One thing is that we are creative but we are also very smart with our resources, because we get no federal funding, Cramer said in a phone interview.As a result, the American Paralympic program invests in initiatives, both long and short term, that are aimed at identifying and developing the athletes who show potential.We gauge success in the most simplistic way -- we look at an athlete that is in the system and has shown a positive trajectory that will hopefully lead to medal, Cramer said. But we dont just hope and cross our fingers, we really invest in them.China, too, has invested in long term plans for success in the Paralympics. In 2007, the huge China Disability Sports Training Centre was opened in Beijing.Britain also invests a lot in its Paralympic program, though Briscoe said it can be difficult to compare other countries to China because of the sheer size of its disabled population. In 2012, the Beijing Review reported that Chinas disabled population was about 85 million. According to the United Nations, the entire population of Germany entering 2016 was about 80 million.Regardless of the number of athletes competing for each nation, it is still up to the individual athlete to win.In the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on Tuesday, China was at it again.Yang Bozun and Zhang Xiaotong claimed gold medals and world records in the 100-meter mens and womens breaststroke finals for blind competitors. Neither was the top finisher in qualifiers.By the end of the night, China had won eight medals and broken five world records.After her race, Zhang was asked about the secret to Chinas success at the Paralympic Games.It is because we train very hard in China and it is a whole teamwork for the entire China team, Zhang said through a translator.Whatever it is seems to be paying off.---This story has been corrected to show that the table tennis was played in Riocentro Pavilion 3, not Riocentro Pavilion 2.Comprar Vapormax Plus Baratas .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Zapatillas Nike Just Do It .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at Boston Strong - a citys recovery from tragedy. http://www.vapormaxbaratas.com/air-max-tn-baratas-venta/hombre.html . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. Vapormax Flyknit Rebajas . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. Vapormax 2020 Baratas . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont.Bobby Johnson made a pivotal catch for the New York Giants in 1986, when they trailed the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth quarter of Week 12. Quarterback Phil Simms found Johnson on fourth-and-17, putting the Giants within range for Raul Allegres game-winning 33-yard field goal.The 22-20 victory propelled the Giants into the postseason and, eventually, to their Super Bowl XXI win over John Elway and the Denver Broncos.Johnson, an undrafted free agent out of the University of Kansas, recorded 81 catches and 15 touchdowns his first two seasons in New York.Bobby was the mystery guy for a long time, said Bill Parcells, who coached the Giants from 1983 to 1990. No one really knew about him.Johnson might have appeared mysterious on the surface, but, in reality, he was hiding something from his teammates: He was addicted to crack cocaine.It was just a social gathering one night, Johnson said of his first encounter with the drug, sometime in the middle of the 1986 season. We were at my place. Somebody said, Try this. I had never tried it before. I thought my will was strong enough just to try it that one time and continue on with my life. But no. That one hit changed my life forever.The more Johnson began using, the more he struggled to honor his commitment to football. He began arriving late to meetings and practices and almost missed kickoff for the Giants NFC Championship Game against the Washington Redskins.Johnsons erratic behavior was overlooked when the team shared the joy of winning Super Bowl XXI, and of receiving the championship rings.Being as young as I was at that time, playing three years, and actually getting a Super Bowl ring, I didnt believe it, Bobby said. I didnt believe it that day. I just kept looking at it, thinking, This cannot be happening.The next summer, Johnson was traded to the San Diego Chargers.He was cut two weeks later.They couldnt count on me, he said. I dont blame them, you know. Just like a regular job, if you come in late every day, eventually youre going to get fired. Thats what happened. I would have got rid of me, too.But the cut pushed Johnson deeper into his addiction.I started doing cocaine 24/7. I didnt have to be at practice. I didnt have to get drug-tested, he said. I stayed high practically all day and night.Johnson headed home to Tennessee, but instead of being with his family in Smyrna, a rural town outside of Nashville, he hid himself in the city, often sleeping on benches along Nashvilles Cumberland River.It was embarrassing, Johnson said. One day youre in the Super Bowl, the next day, youre walking around, homeless, smoking crack. How in the heck did I end up in this situation?It was outside of a Nashville pawn shop in 1989 when Johnson said he hit rock bottom.The drugs were calling me. I mean, literally, the drugs were calling my name, he said. I walked into the pawn shop to get high, maybe a place to sleep that night. A cheap room.Johnson pawned his Super Bowl XXI ring for $250.I actually asked the man what he could give me for it, he said. He offered me $1,000. I said no because I knew I wasnt going to be able to come back and pay it. Finally, he got down to $250. I said, Ill take it.After that, it was just a distant memory. All I had was the tan line on my finger.Several weeks later, it would be Johnsons mother, Ruby, who snapped her son out of his addiction with a simple but poignant reality check.I walked in the house one day, and she looked me dead in the eye, Johnson said. She said, You look terrible. You look dehydrated, gray, you lost all kinds of weight. It went to my core. It went to my soul.She asked me, Are you my son? I didnt raise you like this. This is not you.Johnson has been clean for 14 years. ESPN learned his story, and shared it before tthis seasons Giants-Vikings matchup in Week 4.ddddddddddddWithin hours, a campaign to get Johnsons ring back to him began.Leading the charge was Lee Einsidler, a sports fan who was deeply moved by Johnsons recovery and positive outlook.Einsidler, who declined to be interviewed for this story, reached out to his close friend Bill Parcells with his idea. The two had bonded 10 years ago through a shared passion for horses in Saratoga, New York.Lee had seen the piece that ESPN had done on Bobby, on being homeless and selling his Super Bowl ring, Parcells said. Right after that aired, Lee called me and he said, You know, Bill, we need to try and get this guy his ring back. And I said, Well, Lee, I would like to assist you in doing that, if you would be gracious enough to let me. Which he was.Einsidler pursued the trail of Johnsons Super Bowl ring to a memorabilia dealers collection on Long Island. From there, he and Parcells split the cost to purchase it.I felt like I failed with him in some respects, Parcells said of that 1986 season. I wasnt able to keep him from going off the deep end, so to speak. We wound up having to trade him, and then football ended for him. Most of us thought that when we did hear about him, it wasnt going to be that good of news.Parcells crossed paths with Johnson five years ago, when the 1986 team celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Super Bowl win.He was different, Parcells said. He was good. He came right up to me, he gave me a big hug, told me the dark days were over. You could just tell that things were a lot better for him.On Oct. 16, Johnson was invited to MetLife Stadium to attend the Giants Week 6 game against the Ravens, joining 74?other Giants alumni being honored in a pregame ceremony. But before the ceremony began, Johnson was approached by Giants personnel.We were signing autographs, and they got me and said somebody wants to talk to me, he said. All the guys thought I was in trouble!Johnson was led into a back room, where Chris Mara, Giants senior vice president, was waiting for him, holding a ring box.Thirty years ago, my dad presented you with a Super Bowl ring, Mara told Johnson. Through the efforts of?some very good people, we were able to recover your ring after all these years. We want to present it to you today.Johnson was stunned. I just couldnt believe it. It was like a dream. It really was, he said. I just remember putting it on and crying. For five to 10 minutes, thats all I remember.With his ring finally back on his finger, Johnson could not hold in his emotions any longer. He sat down, bent over and started sobbing. After drying his eyes, he then had an important phone call to make.I just told Coach thank you. A thousand times. Amongst all the tears, and my runny nose, Johnson said.Parcells message to Johnson was a little more like tough love.He was like, Put it on; dont ever take it off! Johnson said with a laugh. Dont lose it again. Speaking to me like a father. Which was awesome. You have to respect that. He did everything he could to get it back. I didnt think it was going to actually happen.He was an important part of the group, and both Lee and I felt the same way, Parcells said. He deserves to share in that with everybody. Thats the only symbol that could represent his participation. So it was nice to get it back to him.Johnson has never met Lee Einsidler but is hoping to set up a meeting with him soon to express his gratitude.I never thought this would happen, Johnson said. God is good. Coach is good. I dont even know Lee. But I love him. This means the world to me.I have come a long way. I have come full circle. ' ' '