- 17 Sep 08, 06:52 AM
There are just not enough words to describe the emotions that I have experienced during the Paralympic Games in Beijing.
There have been highs and lows, some phenomenal performances and lots of tears (happiness, frustration, anger, and more happiness), and that has just been in the Bird's Nest, let along anywhere else.
David Weir did a great job on the track on the final night of action, winning his second gold medal, and overall it was the best night of athletics for the team.
David came into the Games with Britain's best chance of winning athletics gold medals and a lot was expected of him.
He had a shaky start with silver in the 400m and bronze in the 5000m but he came through in the end and he should be happy with his Games.
There have been tons of world records across the programme, packed houses (when there were only 75,000 in for the first rounds we were disappointed) and of course the protests in the wheelchair races involving both David and also Shelly Woods, but I think that we got the right result in the end with those, although not without lots of pain.
So, the GB athletics team didn't deliver the number of medals that was predicted, but the world has changed so much in the last four years, and in Athens there were barely any Chinese athletes competing.
To equal that medal count of 17 this time around was pretty good in the end, because it is a much tougher world than it has ever been. A total of 54 nations won medals in athletics, including the likes of Papua New Guinea, Venezuela and Pakistan, compared to 34 nations winning medals in swimming, and Tunisia finished 6th on the athletics medals table.
British athletes here have found out on the biggest stage how the world is moving on, and when they go home they need to decide whether they are going to try to aim higher, or leave it to others to take on that mantle.
There is not just one answer to the problems facing the sport, and some of those won't be found here. Targets are harsh (they are just a prediction at a moment in time), but that is the way of the world in sport these days, and you do need them. If they help move things for the sport then it is good.
For all those who are sitting reading this, muttering it is ok for me to say all this now I am now longer competing, I recognise I play a part in it too.
When I retired I accepted a place on the UK Athletics board and am now part of the decision-making processes that needs to gear up for the future.
There have been some big changes in UKA in the past year, and also more recently. But it is not just about what UKA does. As is true in all disability sports, there are a number of organisations who play their part in delivering athletes into the sport.
Then you have the separate question of how they are managed. But at this point, more than ever before, those organisations need to come together. There may be some tough decisions ahead but this is the time to make them.
There is the question of whether there should have been more done to change the coaching and performance structures before coming to the Games, and we will never know the answer to that.
What I do know is that we are in a better position than ever before to properly review not just the performance programme, but to look at all of the sport from grass roots upwards.
There are many things to look at, but now it feels like there is a will to do that, especially with 2012 approaching, which will be a key moment for all Paralympic sports.
Athletics at all levels needs to make the most of this opportunity, because that is what I believe this is, and put its best foot forward.
The sport may have taken a bit of a bashing this week, but I think it will only make it stronger.
About this blog
Links to the blogs of all the contributors can be found below.
Subscribe to BBC Sport: Olympics blog
You can stay up to date with BBC Sport: Olympics blog via these feeds.
BBC Sport: Olympics blog Feed(RSS)
BBC Sport: Olympics blog Feed(ATOM)
If you aren't sure what RSS is you'll find our beginner's guide to RSS useful.
Olympics headlines
Visit the BBC Sport website
Visit the Olympics index
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
Comments
Sign in or register to comment.
Bang on Dame Tanni. The chinese more than any nation are showing that lower level disability athletes can be ligitimately poured into the racing categories to devastating effect. It will be tougher than ever next time around.
It certainly focuses the mind for London 2012 and I hope encourages the major supporters of paralympic sport to continue to put the resources into an area, where, let's face it GB are pretty damn good!
F1 chairs as well as F1 cycles do you think?
PS Good job in the booth with Crammy and what a display form all the paralympians - world class sport and world class entertainment.
David Burdus
Sport Promoter
Complain about this comment
great performance by our team all round. didn't think we could possibly exceed our medal total in Athens and we have.
athletics quetsion though - the chinese athlte who lit the torch in the opening ceremony was a high jumper - why was there no high jump competition this year?
good luck to all in the long build up to London - we'll be there to support you all
Complain about this comment
Wow! What a performance by GB in the Paralympics!!
I didnt watch any of it as i work during the day and 2 weeks off normal olympics is enough to send the work bandwith through the roof.
However, If we cant push on in 4 years time then there is really no hope.
I hope the UKA and everyon gets behind this push for a successful 2012! After all the turmoil over the last week or so in the finance world, this could be what we need to get the happy factor back in the UK!
Complain about this comment
congratulations are in order to all the paralympians for their efforts and sportsmanship as well as being so gracious and articulate whenever they are on tv (premiership footballers take note) - also congrats to the BBC for the excellent coverage - would have liked it on either BBC 1 or 2 live as opposed to the red button though, and the commentators have all done a terrific job especially Ron and Ade in the wheelchair basketball
let's hope that the BBC will provide more coverage of disabled sports on mainstream tv so that come 2012, the memories of Beijing 2008 and the likes of David Weir, Shelly Woods, Dave Roberts, Heather Frederiksen, Ellie Simmonds etc; etc; isn't filed away and forgotten
Complain about this comment
The rest of the world certainly is pushing on - and what a good thing too. It means that disabled athletes across the globe are receiving the training they require to gain elite status, and recognition that an elite athlete is an elite athlete, disabled or non disabled.
Thanks so much to the BBC and all commentators and summarisers for truly fantastic coverage. Commentaries and interviews to match the performances, and stories that engaged us.
Finally, sincerest thanks to all athletes of all sports for holding us enthralled for the last few weeks. It's been wonderful- you have been wonderful. I sincerely hope that we will hear of you again long before 2012.... and to Dave Roberts -16 golds? You can do it, Dave!
Complain about this comment
After seeing that Britain's Paralympic team did us proud I regret to say that the BBC didn't give the Paralympics the same coverage on this site as the Olympics.
Complain about this comment
Great to see GB's Paralympians AND Olympians far surpass expectations (apart from in track and field, where they both fell slightly short but should still be seen as far from disastrous).
Complain about this comment
Having shared two paralympic games with Tanni in my role as a paralympic swim coach I totally agree that decisions have to be taken. Perhaps it is time to leave the mantle to others. There were athletes as well as swimmers who over the years have more or less been guaranteed medals including gold. The 2008 games have proved, as Tanni so rightly says, the world of disabled sport has moved on and in some areas and sports at a unbelievable pace and left some of the 'stalwarts' in their wake.
Come on lets search and train the new talent which we have in Great Britain, motivate them with the videos of Beijing and get them ready for 2012.
Thanks Tanni for your great coverage.
Steve Rafferty
Complain about this comment
It's great to hear your comments Tanni. Having attended the last two games, I can defintely attest to the increased depth in athletics in Paralympic sport over the past 10 years..
David Weir's performances in Beijing were great, but probably not on the same scale as Kurt Fearnley's of Australia.
5000m - Fearnley out foxed and out sprinted Weir for Silver. They both missed the Thai though.
800m - the offer of a re-run was given by the IPC due to an INCORRECT lane draw, protest or not, there was an error at hand and Fearnley wasn't given the opportunity to compete as entitled. It was true sportsmanship on his behalf to deny the re-run. Imagine what have happened if Weir had been dealt lane two instead of 7!! How many lane protested did team GB lodge during the games?? The only difference was their's were upheld prior to races commencing.
1500m - Fearnley in perfect position with 500m to go gets taken out by another athlete and Weir glides past due to his poor position and sneaks his way to gold. Fearnley rockets back with a broken wheel to take bronze, overtaking a couple on his way.
Marathon - Fearnley holds off six japanese and world's fastest Ernst van Dyk to take gold in a Paralympic record time. Weir watches on TV.
True heart and amazing performances from Fearnley, Weir grabs two lucky golds.
Fearnley, male wheelchair athlete of the meet.
Complain about this comment
View these comments in RSS