2012 Paralympics - Huge crowds cheer David Weir to victory

[Terpe]

Thousands of spectators have lined the route of the wheelchair marathon through central London to cheer GB's David Weir to a fourth gold medal at the Games.

He said the support from the sun-baked crowd on the final day of the Games had been "amazing the whole way through".

Team-mate Shelly Woods took the silver in the women's race, as GB cemented third place in the medals table.

Coldplay will perform at the closing ceremony from 20:30 GMT.

The event will end what has been the most successful event in Paralympic history.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live on the final day of London 2012, organising committee chairman Lord Coe said: "It has been fantastic. We wanted to raise the bar at the Olympics and I am as proud as everyone at being a part of a team that has unquestionably raised the bar at the Paralympics.

"We get Paralympics sport in this country. I never really doubted that the Paralympic Games would be anything other than a show-stopper."

In a fitting finale to the track and field competition on Saturday, South Africa's Oscar Pistorius - famously known as the "Blade Runner", and one of the faces of the Games - won gold in the the T44 400m.

After the race, the 25-year-old said: "This is one of the most amazing competitions I've ever been a part of, it's been a privilege to be here.

"I think everybody's perceptions of disabled sport has changed."

Channel 4 revealed more than four million people tuned in to watch Pistorius cruise to gold, peaking at 4.2 million during the race at 22:00 BST.

Targets surpassed

Earlier on Sunday Brazil's Tito Sena won the T46 marathon, while Alberto Suarez of Spain took the gold in the T12 event, breaking his own world record with a time of 2:24:50.

The crowds then swelled as Weir began his bid for a fourth gold medal of London 2012 in the wheelchair marathon

Weir, 33, nicknamed "The Weirwolf of London", had already won the 800m, 1500m and 5,000m.

Competitors in the men's and women's marathons started and finished in The Mall, completing one short and three long loops during the 26.2-mile race through central London.

One spectator on the route near The Mall said the race was the culmination of six weeks of wonderful sport, and that the Paralympics had "taken it up another notch".

"It's been so good being part of the atmosphere."

Weir and Woods both needed to secure gold so ParalympicsGB could overtake Russia for second in the medals table.

But Sunday's result gives them the third spot, with a tally of 120, including 34 golds.

On Saturday, popular swimmer Ellie Simmonds' loss of her S6 100m freestyle title to USA's Victoria Arlen, despite recording a personal best, saw the 17-year-old finish the Games with a haul of two gold medals, a silver and a bronze.

"I'm quite emotional," she told 5 live on Sunday. "I'm sad it's ending but I'm looking forward to the closing ceremony and looking back at what I've achieved - I'm surprised at what I've achieved."

She added: "I swam the best I could and to come away with personal bests in every event is brilliant."

Once Sunday's sports have concluded, the closing ceremony will bring the curtain down on what has been one of the most successful Paralympics in the event's history.

Organisers have sold some 2.7 million Paralympic tickets - beating targets by 200,000 and predicted sales by £10m.

Sports minister Hugh Robertson said: "The way the British public has taken it to their heart has just been great. I've never know a summer like it."

The UK's papers on Sunday reflected on what the Observer called a sporting "summer in a million".

"Two sporting extravaganzas, a record-breaking medal haul for Britain, disabled sport showcased as never before… no wonder even the Aussies say it was better than Sydney," said the Independent.

The 70,000 Games volunteers were hailed by the Sunday Express, which said: "Unfailingly cheerful, polite and helpful, [they] not only made the Games a success, but restored pride in some good, old-fashioned British values."

Sold-out

Stars due to perform at Sunday's sold-out ceremony include Jay-Z and Rihanna and hundreds of performers in bandstands across the UK are expected to join in a rendition of Coldplay's Viva La Vida.

The live broadcast of the ceremony is due to start at 20:30 BST and organisers hope it will finish by 23:00 BST.

Speaking at a press briefing on Saturday, the show's director Kim Gavin promised a festival of the flame.

He said: "We are known as a nation for having the most festivals.

"The festival approach is purely to celebrate the last night of the Games, and we will pay tribute to all the human spirit and achievement of the last two weeks."

He said the athletes would be on the field of play for the start of the show, adding: "Through Coldplay's music we are going to take you through the seasons from autumn to summer".

He said there would also be a tribute to Help for Heroes and that the union jack would be revealed for the national anthem in a "special way".

British stars of the Olympics and Paralympics will then celebrate their success during a victory parade through the streets of London on Monday.

Source:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19535236

[Terpe]

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