Athletes face growing expectations
Updated: 2008-09-07 07:24:49
bbc.co.uk Accessibility Links Skip to content Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation Skip to search Access keys help bbc.co.uk Navigation Search Home TV Radio Talk Where I Live A-Z Index Skip to main content Access keys help Help Contact us Paralympics 2008 Main Next Athletes face growing expectations Tanni Grey Thompson 7 Sep 08, 06:24 AM The excitement amongst the Paralympics GB athletics team here in Beijing is almost palpable . I went on Friday to the warm-up track to watch the team's final preparations and everything looked great . You can tell that wheelchair racer David Weir is in great shape and pushing well , not only by the speeds that he is hitting on the track , but also the fact that most of the other guys who are there are watching what he is doing . When he was doing a couple of sprints , a few brave ones tried to sit behind him to test themselves out . Those who were not so brave sat in the lane on the outside of him to try and judge what his top speed might be . They all realised one thing , and that is he is . fast The last couple of days before the athletics programme starts is when the psychological fun really begins . Some people do not want to train on the track at the
bbc.co.uk Accessibility Links Skip to content Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation Skip to search Access keys help bbc.co.uk Navigation Search Home TV Radio Talk Where I Live A-Z Index Skip to main content Access keys help Help Contact us Paralympics 2008 Main A glorious opening in Beijing Elizabeth Hudson 6 Sep 08, 07:27 PM The organisers of the Beijing Paralympics had long promised a Games of equal splendour to the Olympics and Saturday's spectacular opening ceremony has set a high benchmark for the rest of the competition . Drawing on the themes of sky,earth and humans , the production featured dance , music , fireworks that shook the Bird's Nest Stadium , pink trees and the most amazing climax and torch lighting . imaginable Hou Bin has won high jump gold medals at the last three Paralympics but he needed all of his strength for his role at the climax of the torch relay , propelling himself and his wheelchair up 70 feet into the air to light the torch and signal the start of the Games . I was sat near my BBC colleague Tanni Grey-Thompson in the stadium and she said it was the most spectacular opening ceremony she had seen since Barcelona . The flame lighting was amazing and having the
bbc.co.uk Accessibility Links Skip to content Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation Skip to search Access keys help bbc.co.uk Navigation Search Home TV Radio Talk Where I Live A-Z Index Skip to main content Access keys help Help Contact us Paralympics 2008 Main Next Para-cyclists set to emulate Olympians Nick Mullins 6 Sep 08, 08:07 AM If they come close to matching the exploits of their team-mates a couple of weeks ago they'll be able to put down a proportion of their success to Jaffa Cakes , Yorkshire tea , white vinegar and the Crafty Cockney The Paralympic cycling team are applying the finishing touches to what they hope will be a glorious final chapter for the sport here in Beijing , with a little help from those who set the wheels rolling during the . Olympics The two squads pedalled side-by-side at the Manchester Velodrome in the build-up to the Games and have been busy swapping intelligence since arriving in . China Some of it has been predictable , some of it less so . The Paralympians were told the Laoshan Velodrome was heated to 27 degrees centigrade , so that's what they set the thermometer to back in . Manchester They were told the track's straights were 15 metres longer than
bbc.co.uk Accessibility Links Skip to content Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation Skip to search Access keys help bbc.co.uk Navigation Search Home TV Radio Talk Where I Live A-Z Index Skip to main content Access keys help Help Contact us Paralympics 2008 Main Who can stop Canada's hoop stars Ade Adepitan 5 Sep 08, 12:40 PM Over the last eight years , the Canadian men's team have dominated international wheelchair basketball to such an extent you could say they are the second major dynasty that China has seen . They have won three out of four of the global titles since the Sydney Paralympics in 2000 and it is very hard to argue against Canada making history by becoming the first team to win three straight Paralympic golds in the event a Three-peat as our NBA friends would put . it With Patrick Anderson arguably the best player in the world leading the way , they have taken the game to another level , but by doing so they have forced the rest of the world to raise their game as . well For the first time we have seen a dent in their normally pristine armour . Canada have lost three times this year , with all of the defeats inflicted by a young , in-form , and very talented USA team that is
bbc.co.uk Accessibility Links Skip to content Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation Skip to search Access keys help bbc.co.uk Navigation Search Home TV Radio Talk Where I Live A-Z Index Skip to main content Access keys help Help Contact us Paralympics 2008 Main Next Paralympians get used to life in the village Elizabeth Hudson 4 Sep 08, 03:29 PM Relaxed and ready is the mood in the ParalympicsGB camp on Thursday in the athletes' . village With the start of the Beijing Paralympics just a couple of days away , final preparations are being made and there is an air of confidence around the . team The likes of four-time Paralympian Jody Cundy are old hands at Paralympic villages , but for wheelchair basketball player Helen Freeman it is a whole new . experience 18-year-old Freeman above left from Watford , is the youngest member of the women's team . She has been training hard for her Paralympic experience while studying for her . A-levels A place at Reading University studying Biochemistry , awaits Freeman when she gets back to London later this month but she wants to make the most of her first . Games It has been an amazing experience so far . I now just want to get out there and play , she
bbc.co.uk Accessibility Links Skip to content Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation Skip to search Access keys help bbc.co.uk Navigation Search Home TV Radio Talk Where I Live A-Z Index Skip to main content Access keys help Help Contact us Paralympics 2008 Main Equestrian team ready to rock Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes 4 Sep 08, 08:40 AM Our accreditation may have changed to blue , the army of volunteers is significantly smaller and we seem to be the only TV crew in town BUT the buzz around the stables is the same as it was at the Olympics . Here the best para dressage riders in the world have gathered for the biggest para dressage show on earth . It's great to be back amongst equestrian folk , chatting about Hanoverians and halts tack to tests and lots of chitter chatter about who'll bag the medals . I've spent the last two days virtually stalking the British team . They have generously allowed us to film their training sessions and on Wednesday we took Lee Pearson and Ricky Balshaw down to the waterfront in Kowloon for a tour on camera . It was one of the best days filming I've had . Lee and Ricky are great company and needless to say Lee was his usual entertaining self . He is also looking
bbc.co.uk Accessibility Links Skip to content Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation Skip to search Access keys help bbc.co.uk Navigation Search Home TV Radio Talk Where I Live A-Z Index Skip to main content Access keys help Help Contact us Olympics Paralympics Main Next Archery concerns need addressing Alan Wills 4 Sep 08, 12:34 PM I spoke out against GB head coach Peter Suk immediately after my quarter-final defeat at the Olympic Games and then retracted it on reflection in my blog later that . day Since then , I've had more time to reflect and I stand by what I originally said and if a lot of things don't get better , I will pack it in and that's not me being a sore . loser Concerns need to be raised for the benefit of the whole of GB archery if we can push on , the funding will get there , if not , the sport goes back to no funding and fewer . competitors The next three or four years are going to be interesting with London 2012 coming up we should get more input into what we need to become world and Olympic . champions I know I'm capable of winning Olympic medals , but I need to have the right . support This is the first year since I turned senior in 2002 that I've not won a medal in
bbc.co.uk Accessibility Links Skip to content Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation Skip to search Access keys help bbc.co.uk Navigation Search Home TV Radio Talk Where I Live A-Z Index Skip to main content Access keys help Help Contact us Olympics Paralympics Main Being part of it all in Beijing Katy Livingston 3 Sep 08, 02:45 PM What an incredible Olympics for our modern pentathlon team . Heather Fell and I were excited from the moment we set foot in the athletes' village to the moment we left and that moment came far too . soon All five of our pentathlon events took place on one day , the last Friday of the Games , so we only had Saturday and Sunday to enjoy ourselves properly . But the advantage of competing so late was that the more medals Team GB won , the less nervous I felt . It took the pressure off because suddenly nobody was looking to the final few events in desperation for . medals Heather's silver medal is a brilliant result for her , and for our sport . We've had a great last two years now qualifying two boys for Beijing beat our initial target of one , and a medal is what we had to produce from the girls' point of view . My seventh place shows we've got strength in depth in
bbc.co.uk Accessibility Links Skip to content Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation Skip to search Access keys help bbc.co.uk Navigation Search Home TV Radio Talk Where I Live A-Z Index Skip to main content Access keys help Help Contact us Paralympics 2008 Main Next From London to Beijing in seven great days Tony Garrett 3 Sep 08, 02:07 PM It's been a frantic seven days since I left the relative calm shores of the UK , flying out of Heathrow on the way to the Beijing Paralympics First stop : Hong Kong Here , some of the British team were fine-tuning their preparations . Over the next few days , my plan was to film interviews with the squads in HK and Macau . When we landed , it was encouraging to find my wheelchair was still in one piece and promptly available . Paralympic signs were up , officials were organised and helpful within 45 minutes of touching down I had my accreditation and my luggage , and was arriving at the hotel As at the Olympics , Hong Kong is the venue for the equestrian events . As I arrived the Paralympic banners were being . hoisted I stayed at the same hotel as a number of the GB athletes . It was good to catch up with some of my old table tennis colleagues ,
bbc.co.uk Accessibility Links Skip to content Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation Skip to search Access keys help bbc.co.uk Navigation Search Home TV Radio Talk Where I Live A-Z Index Skip to main content Access keys help Help Contact us Paralympics 2008 Main Next Upgrades , gambling and staying cool in Beijing Natalie Jones 3 Sep 08, 12:44 PM We are finally in Beijing after acclimatising in Macau and we are on to the serious bit the Games . themselves My flight from London to Hong Kong was great . I upgraded to business class or World Traveller Plus , as it is called now and it was . amazing I felt like a bit of a muppet though as I had never flown business class before and was a bit out of place , but it was good . I had my own little area where I could put my feet up and relax . I was most looking forward to the actual sleeping because you can never get comfy on a plane , can you I was just grateful I could lie down I think I had a full eight hours of sleep . I was really pleased about that , because sometimes I don't even get that at home . Training has been going great so far . The first two days in Macau we only trained in the afternoon as we were all tired and needed our sleep .
bbc.co.uk Accessibility Links Skip to content Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation Skip to search Access keys help bbc.co.uk Navigation Search Home TV Radio Talk Where I Live A-Z Index Skip to main content Access keys help Contact us Help EDITORS' BLOG Behind the scenes at BBC Sport Main Next Paralympic Fever Dave Gordon 2 Sep 08, 10:20 AM Here in Beijing , there's no sign of Olympic fever abating Chinese Television is still re-running highlights from the Games crowds still gather around the perimeter of the Olympic Green to have their photos taken with a backdrop of the Bird's Nest Stadium and there seems to be an Olympic souvenir store on every street corner doing a roaring trade . Even at Beijing Zoo , sales of the panda-like mascots seem as popular as visits to the real life Giant Pandas With the Opening Ceremony taking place next Saturday , Beijing is ready for Paralympic fever to take over . No sign yet of Paralympic souvenirs but the first tangible signs were the replacement a few days ago of all the Olympic banners that line the streets of the city with the Paralympic versions Street signs have changed too with directions to Paralympic venues instead . For Olympic Village' read
bbc.co.uk Accessibility Links Skip to content Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation Skip to search Access keys help bbc.co.uk Navigation Search Home TV Radio Talk Where I Live A-Z Index Skip to main content Access keys help Help Contact us Paralympics 2008 Main Next China switches to Paralympic mode Tanni Grey Thompson 2 Sep 08, 10:08 AM Within 36 hours of the Olympic Games closing ceremony the flags in the city of Beijing were changed to Paralympic ones . The message that I have seen in Beijing is that things happen here fast . I came here a couple of years ago when the foundations of the athletes' village were being dug and it seemed impossible that anything would be ready . If the rumours are true , in the last two years there have been 200 new hotels built in Beijing and in the past six months many underground stations have been made accessible for disabled . people Since my first visit to Beijing there have been many dramatic changes , not just physical ones , but more attitudinal ones . Last time , there was barely a dropped kerb in sight , and now there is more tactile paving than I have ever seen in my life . I was out and about in the city a couple of days ago and ramps that
Canadaâs Olympic and Paralympic equestrian teams are set and the riders are making their final preparations for the long journey to Hong Kong. Because of animal quarantine rules, the Olympic competition is being held in Hong Kong rather than in Mainland...(read more)