The
world's best wheelchair, amputee, blind and visually impaired marathon racers
compete in central London from 0700 GMT, taking the festival of disabled sport
to the public, with large crowds expected.
In
seven-a-side football, Russia are out for revenge over Ukraine in a repeat of
the Beijing final four years ago, while Australia take on Canada for
"murderball" -- wheelchair rugby -- gold.
With 11
days of sport and the biggest, most high-profile Paralympics in the Games'
52-year history at an end, attention then turns to the closing ceremony, which
takes place in the Olympic Stadium from 1930 GMT.
Organisers
have promised that the show, headlined by British band Coldplay, will be a
celebratory farewell and look ahead to the next competition in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, in 2016.
"We
have taken the flame, being part of and representing the human spirit that
brings so much power to these Games, and really focused towards the flame going
out. That's our emotion," said co-artistic director Kim Gavin.
London
was awarded the Olympics and Paralympics in 2005 and has had to face doubts
notably over the cost of the project, security and whether the city's creaking
transport system could cope with a massive influx of visitors.
But
organisers have won plaudits for the efficient running of both events, with
packed venues and vocal crowds, defying naysayers who predicted chaos and a
lack of enthusiasm.
London
2012 chief Sebastian Coe told reporters on Saturday that he always believed the
Games would be a success.
"Nothing
has surprised me in this whole journey, even in the days where a lot of people
were not that excited and didn't believe that what we were doing would end up
where we did. I've never doubted that and why would I?," he added.
"I
wasn't surprised by the (torch) relay, I wasn't surprised about the ways the
Games caught the imagination."
A record
4,200 athletes from 165 nations took part in the Paralympics, from major stars
such as South Africa's Oscar Pistorius -- the first double-amputee to compete
in the Olympics -- to North Korea and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
At the
top end of performances, hundreds of world and Games records fell. New stars
emerged, watched by the 2.7 million people who bought tickets.
Certainly
in Britain, where the media covered the Games as never before, millions more
read about them in newspapers and online or watched them on television.
Interest
and the focus on performance were signs that disabled sport had come of age,
said the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) governing body.
"The
fact is our athletes are getting better. They're training full-time. This is
not just a hobby sport. It's professional sport at its very best," said
IPC spokeman Craig Spence on September 4.
"Some
countries are enjoying far better levels of funding, which in turn leads to
better results. We would like to put it down to their (the athletes') hard work
rather than anything else."
Issues
undoubtedly remain, not least the wide gulf between top-performing nations and
less developed countries lacking resources for people with disabilities, not
just in sport.
But as
the flame goes out, there are hopes that the momentum of interest can be
sustained well beyond the immediate afterglow, inspiring the next generation of
athletes with disabilities and encouraging more people into sport.
There
are also wider hopes that the Games can be a much-needed spur to help to change
attitudes the world over.
"I
will be a big example for disabled people in my country, so that they can do
better," said hand-cycling Paralympian Gaysli Leon, of Haiti, who lost his
wife and eight children in the 2010 earthquake on the Caribbean island.
"Disabled
doesn't mean that you are useless," said the 45-year-old.
Source: MSN.Com
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