Cowdrey’s five gold, two silver and one bronze equalled his gold medal tally at the Beijing Olympics, with career total of 13 gold pushing him into the prestigious position.
The Crows ambassador won gold in the men's 100m backstroke S9, 50m freestyle S9, 200m individual medley SM9, 100m freestyle S9 and 4x100m freestyle relay 34 points, silver in the men's 100m butterfly S9 and 100m breaststroke S8 and bronze in the men's 4x100m medley relay 34 points final.
Cowdrey’s parents, who had previously never attended one of their son’s Paralympic events, watched the South Aussie claim his fifth gold of the meet after being flown across the world by his personal sponsor.
"It would have been a little bit embarrassing if they came all this way and I hadn't of swum too well, so that definitely takes a bit of pressure off," Cowdrey said.
"They got here this afternoon, from my understanding, and got to the pool tonight. It's the first time they've been to a Paralympic Games, first time they've been to a stadium with 18,000 people.”
Malvern track athlete Gabriel Cole competed in the men's 100m T46, placing sixth in the heat.
Another Crows fan, Katy Parrish narrowly missed out on a track medal. Parrish, who also competed in the long jump, was part of the Australian women's T35/38 4x100m relay team, which recorded a national record but just missed out on a medal finishing 0.24 seconds behind Great Britain in fourth position.
The 2012 Paralympics closing ceremony was held overnight.
