Paralympics set to open in London tomorrow

The Paralympic Games begin in London on Wednesday, with China tipped to repeat their gold rush of four years ago but hosts Britain aiming to push them hard and give home fans more reasons to cheer. Just over two weeks after the Olympics closing ceremony, organisers have transformed sports venues and accommodation in readiness for the arrival of some 4,200 athletes with a disability and the 11-day finale to a summer of sport. Queen Elizabeth II is due to open the Games on Wednesday evening, with the Paralympic cauldron lit using flames kindled on Britain’s four highest peaks and 24 hours after a torch relay starting at the spiritual home of the movement. It was in Stoke Mandeville, southern England, in 1948 that a German Jewish medical doctor organised sports events for World War II veterans with spinal injuries, 12 years before the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960. The sporting action begins on Thursday, with shooting at the imposing 18th century Royal Artillery Barracks set to provide the first gold of the Games in the women’s 10m standing air rifle. Medals are also up for grabs in the velodrome, with the finals of the men and women’s individual pursuit, in four weight categories in judo at the ExCel Arena and at the Aquatics Centre, where 15 swimming finals are to be held. In the pool, multiple gold medallist Natalie Du Toit is aiming to retire on a high in the sport she has dominated for more than a decade. The South African competes in seven events.