ParalympicsRelive Beijing

ALL Paralympic gold medallists should have received New Years Honours, according to the British Paralympic Association.

PARITY: Paralympics GB chief executive Phil Lane OBE and gold medallists Eleanor Simmonds MBE and Lee Pearson CBE (Getty Images)

Every Olympic gold medallist received recognition in the list released today but there was not parity with the Paralympics – although more Paralympians, 18 in total, were honoured than ever before.

Great Britain finished second in the Paralympic medal table behind hosts China – winning 102 medals, including 42 golds.

“We are delighted to see these Paralympic athletes recognised in the honours list for their contribution to British sport and their magnificent achievements,” said ParalympicsGB chairman Tim Reddish, who was awarded a OBE for his work as the Performance Director for British Disability Swimming

“We are however very disappointed that not all the Beijing 2008 Paralympic gold medallists could be recognised but we look forward to more athletes being honoured in the future.”

Phil Lane, Great Britain’s Paralympic chef de mission, was awarded an OBE.

He said: “I am shocked but honoured to be named in the New Year’s Honours List.

“2008 has been a superb year for British Paralympic sport and I’m proud of the team’s achievements leading into and at the Beijing Games.

“I’m fortunate to lead an organisation with very able staff and extremely talented athletes, whose efforts made our Beijing Paralympic campaign such a success and I would like to dedicate this accolade to them.”

Lee Pearson, who has now won nine equestrian dressage golds, and swimmer David Roberts – Britain’s most successful male Paralympian with 11 golds – were both upgraded to CBEs.

And 14-year old Eleanor Simmonds became the youngest ever recipient of an MBE for her double swimming gold.

RELATED: Paralympic teenager Simmonds awarded MBE

RELATED: Double gold medallist Adlington awarded OBE

DOUBLE Paralympic champion Peter Norfolk has been named as Great Britain’s flag bearer for next week’s London 2012 opening ceremony.

PROUD: Peter Norfolk, dubbed the quadfather, is a two-time Paralympic champion and will carry the British flag at the opening ceremony at London 2012

Wheelchair tennis player Norfolk won quad singles gold in Athens and Beijing and has also a doubles silver and bronze in his collection.

He arrives in London ranked world number three in singles and number one, alongside Jamie Burdekin, in doubles.

“I’m absolutely blown away to be selected as the British flag bearer for the opening ceremony,” he said. 

“It was a huge surprise when I was told and I feel it is a very great honour.

“I can feel the excitement is really building as everyone is talking about the Games and getting behind the athletes wishing them luck. 

“I’m very humbled to lead in the ParalympicsGB team that I’m sure can make Great Britain very, very proud. 

“This will be my first opening ceremony as my playing schedules have meant I missed the other two so this will be an especially magical moment for me.”

British chef de mission Craig Hunter is still negotiating with organising committee officials about the size of the home delegation at the ceremony.

He expects between  third and half of the 300-strong team to be involved but has been seeking assurances over transport from the athletes’ village to the stadium.

“To carry the flag at the head of the team at any Games is a unique honour but this is made even more special because it will be in front of a home crowd,” said Hunter.

“Pete has been selected following a vote from his fellow team-members so this is true recognition of his outstanding sporting achievement.”

©  2012

By James Toney, , at the Olympic Stadium

AND that was that, a summer like no other now consigned to the pages of history. A cherished memory of endless days and golden glory witnessed through often disbelieving eyes.

HOME HEROES: David Weir and Sarah Storey carry the British flag at the conclusion of the London 2012 Paralympic Games 

Did it really happen? Yes it did and we were there, right in the middle of the melee – cheering from stands and sofas for athletes who just a few weeks ago many didn’t even know but whose names are now indelibly stained on the national sporting consciousness.

London’s Olympic Park, which once bustled with excitement and anticipation, falls silent, its greatest days forever behind it.

But before reality bites, one last party, one last chance to cheer and one last chance to shed a tear. 

Snaking through London on Monday will be a convoy of Olympians and Paralympians who proves more than any dancing dog, lithe limbo dancer or giggly girl band that Britain really has got talent.

They will stop the traffic just as they have stopped the world and all they ask, all they deserve, is one last rousing ovation before they take their leave of the stage.

The legacy of these weeks will take time to assess and we’ll need to wait some years to find out whether a generation was really inspired.

For the Paralympics this is uncharted territory as people finally forgot disability and saw only ability. 

There is nothing special about David Weir or Sarah Storey or Ellie Simmonds other than their sporting talent.

In recent days Paralympic sport has become mainstream, the athletes of these Games have become A listers, knocking football off the back pages and topping the bulletins.

But realism triumphs over optimism and how long will this last?

Over the last week over 1.5 million people have crammed into the Olympic Stadium, packing it to its rafters every morning and evening, to witness Paralympic athletics push the boundaries ever further. And it was quite a thing.

At last year’s World Championships in Christchurch, the daily attendance was barely 2,000 and that comprised mainly of competitors and their families. They couldn’t even be bothered to close the roads for the marathon and the action was broadcast only on he internet.

No-one in the Olympic or Paralympic movement wants to merge their Games or change their running order. 

The Olympics remains the best possible warm-up act, it’s not patronising or condescending for the Paralympics to follow, as recent days have proved it does not make them second best, far from it.

But perhaps it’s time to consider whether Paralympic athletes can compete alongside non-disabled athletes in other major championships, for example the World Athletics Championships.

Until Paralympic sport is fully embraced, until it gets the airtime, the sponsorship and the exposure it will struggle to gain traction in a cluttered sporting landscape of big-money transfers and not that Super Sundays. 

And that must be the challenge.

But if we meet that confrontation in the same way the athletes of these Games conquered the obstacles in their path, this could really be the start of something special.

And, don’t forget, it all started here.

©  2012

BRITISH Paralympic Games chiefs have lauded the performance of their athletes at London 2012 despite falling just short of reaching the medal table target they set.

STAR NAME: Sarah Storey won four golds to take her career tally to 11, in cycling and swimming, establishing herself as one of the faces of the London 2012 Paralympics

Funding agency UK Sport issued three pre-Games ambitions – winning more medals than Beijing, in more sports and finishing second on the medal table.

But it’s a case of two out of three as Russia look likely to pip to edge the hosts into third, although only just.

“The bottom line is we have smashed our medals target and we have delivered medals in more sports,” said British Paralympic Association performance director Penny Briscoe.

“For instance in table tennis we delivered four medals after none in Beijing, and there was our first ever sailing medal.

“We are third in the medal table and that does rankle just a tad in terms of the total golds, but I think it is significant that we are ahead of all of our competitors apart from China in terms of overall medals.

“We have stood toe-to-toe with the best nations slugging it out and it has been a battle. We have seen the return of USA and Australia and been at the hands of the dominant Chinesem who once again have laid down some phenomenal performances.

“It has been the most competitive Games ever with six nations likely to finish with 30 golds or more in the table.

“We have no regrets, absolutely not. I don’t think there is any reason not to believe we don’t have the potential or the ambition to continue to try and chip away at China’s total in the future.”

Briscoe, speaking at a press conference at ParalympicsGB House to mark the close of London 2012, described the team’s pride at the achievements of a new wave of British heroes.

And she made her point sat alongside double track gold medallist Hannah Cockroft, four-times gold medallist Sarah Storey and Helena Lucas, who claimed the nation’s first ever Paralympic sailing medal with gold in Weymouth.

“No medal has been easy and even those athletes that haven’t achieved medals have put in some fantastic performances,” added Briscoe.

“The statistic is a British medal once in every four events that have been held.

“The likes of Sarah Storey, David Weir and Ellie Simmonds have continued to deliver at the highest level. Then we have had debutantes such as Hannah with two amazing medals on the track.

“The performance of British athletes in London has been exceptional. World standards have taken a rise that we didn’t think possible coming into the Games.

“We are incredibly proud of the achievements of the athletes. It has been very successful, hard fought and we should all be proud.”

©  2012