Paralympics 2012: Here we go!
Opening ceremony to mark start of biggest Games
ever
Just 17 days since the end of the London Olympics, the country
is getting ready to do it all over again tonight with the opening
ceremony of the Paralympic Games.
Tonight's show will be performed in front of a sell-out crowd of
80,000 people at the Olympic stadium in London.
Details of the event are top secret but we know it will open at
8.30pm with a fly past by Aerobility, a British charity that trains
disabled people to become pilots.
More than 3000 adult volunteers are taking part in the ceremony,
along with more than 100 children and a professional cast of
100.
Around 2.3 million tickets to the Games have been sold - more
than ever before. Organisers say it will be the biggest Paralympics
ever.
Hopes are high for more success for Team GB, which includes 27
Scots.
And two Scottish women will be centre stage as they carry the
Paralympic Torch in the final stages of its journey towards the
stadium tonight.
Former Paralympian Caroline Baird, from Carnoustie, Angus, and
disability sports worker Katherine Forrester, from Howgate,
Midlothian, will carry the torch through Newham in London. It will
then be taken to the stadium for the opening ceremony.
The ceremony will signal the start of 11 days of competition by
nearly 4,300 athletes from 166 countries.
Team GB is aiming for a total of 103 medals in the Games -
that would be one more than in Beijing in 2008. The team hopes to
come second overall, after China.
Join us LIVE on Glow TV - Tune in this Friday
14 September to speak live to two Olympic canoeists - gold medal
winner Tim Baillie AND double silver medallist David Florence! Sign up here.
Click here to try our paralympics quiz and
here to see a slideshow of events to look out
for.
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Paralympics 2012: Here we go!
Some highlights to look out for, plus Paralympic
classification explained
Cycling: Women's Individual Pursuit - Thursday 30
August
Sarah Storey won 16 Paralympic swimming medals between 1992 and
2004 and has now moved on to cycling where she is proving just as
successful. She was the first disabled cyclist to compete in the
Commonwealth Games representing England where she finished sixth
overall.
Athletics: T34 100 metre final - Friday 31
August
British youngster Hannah Cockroft is building a habit of breaking
world records. In 2010 she broke seven world records over eight
days, and she was the first athlete to break a world record at the
Olympic Stadium during London 2012's test event in May. She is the
reigning double world champion having beaten rival American Kristin
Messer in both the 100 metres and 200 metres last year in
Christchurch.
Cycling: Men's individual time trial - Wednesday 5
September
Former Formula 1 Driver Alex Zanardi is now a leading name in
paracycling following a crash in 2001 that resulted in the
amputation of his legs. He won the New York City Marathon last year
and will now be seeking further success for Italy.
Wheelchair rugby, or "Murderball" - 5-9
September
Wheelchair rugby is all about crashing into each other and
smashing opponents to the floor. The bruising rivalry between the
US and Canada made it into a film named 'Murderball'. The American
team has won two golds and one bronze since wheelchair rugby became
a part of the Paralympics at the Sydney 2000 games. Canada has yet
to top the podium and will be out to prove a point against their
biggest rivals. Meanwhile, Ryley Batt,a22-year-old Australian, is
without doubt the one to watch out for at the London 2012
Paralympic Games. Ryan was born without legs and only two fingers
on each hand. His amazing speed and maneuverability on court makes
him the most feared player in the sport.
Athletics: T44 100 metre final - Thursday 6
Sept
Possibly the standout race of the Paralympic Games: Oscar 'Blade
Runner' Pistorius versus Jerome Singleton versus Jonnie Peacock.
South African Pistorius beat the USA's Jerome Singleton into second
place in the 2008 100 metre final in Beijing. Singleton beat
Pistorius in a photo-finish at last year's World Championships. And
now Britain's Jonnie Peacock has broken Oscar's world record. Get
ready for a world-class showdown.
Athletics: T54 800 metres - Thursday 6 Sept
The British star David Weir is possibly the world's best
all-round wheelchair racing athlete. On the track, he won gold in
Beijing in the 800 metres and 1,500 metres as well as silver in 400
metres and bronze in 5000 metres. But then there is Kurt Fearnley,
from Australia, who won double silver in Beijing. Add Marcel Hug,
from Switzerland, who holds the world records, and expect some
fantastic racing.
Swimming: S6 100 metres freestyle - Sat 8
September
This promises to be an almighty battle. GB's Ellie Simmonds took
gold in Beijing but Mirjam de Konig-Peper from the Netherlands won
at the European Championships earlier this year, beating Ellie by
just fourteen-hundredths of a second. The two stars won't have it
all their own way though, as American swimmer Victoria Arlen, just
16 years old, smashed Ellie's 100 metre record at the US trials
this year. Arlen also took Ellie's 400 metre record too for good
measure.
Classification
To ensure fair competition, athletes compete in different
categories according to their impairment. The categories, or
classes, are shown with a mixture of letters and numbers that refer
to the type of impairment the athletes have, and sometimes the
extent of the effect of the impairment. Classification systems are
different in each sport.
For example, in athletics T means track event, F means field
event. There then follow one or two numbers. The first digit
represents the nature of the athlete's impairment. For example, 4
is for an impairment that affects the arms or legs, including
amputees, while 1 is for athletes with a visual impairment. The
second number shows the level of ability the athlete has. The lower
the second number, the greater the impact of the impairment is on
the athlete.
In swimming, S means freestyle, backstroke or butterfly, while
SB is for breastroke and SM is for individual medley events. The
numbers then indicate a physical, visual or intellectual
impairment.
Join us LIVE on Glow TV - Tune in this Friday
14 September to speak live to two Olympic canoeists - gold medal
winner Tim Baillie AND double silver medallist David Florence! Sign up here.
Click here to try our paralympics quiz and
here to see a slideshow of events to look out
for.
Lesson ideas and
suggestions
Join the Daily What News Facebook group