Athletes face growing expectations

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 07:24:49 BST

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