The sell-out crowd (pictured above) at the Olympic Stadium represented an unprecedented moment for the Paralympic Movement, who have never had an entirely full crowd for an athletics competition, let alone for the morning of an event.

It is particularly impressive given that high profile able-bodied athletics championships, including the IAAF World Championships, are rarely able to fill stadiums for the morning session.

Baroness Tanni, Britain's 11-time Paralympic champion wheelchair racer who has attended every Games as an athlete or commentator since Seoul 1988, admitted she was delighted by the crowd at the venue, who were deafening in their support of the ParalympicsGB athletes.

"To see a crowd like this at a Paralympics, particularly in a morning session, is unbelievable," she told insideworldparasport.

"We simply don't see this number of people in Paralympic competition and it is really special.


"It will be amazing for the British athletes and the roar they got when they were introduced gives me goosebumps.

"I'm sure the evening sessions will be something special to see."

The session saw Serbia's Željko Dimitrijević (pictured above) take the first Paralympic gold medal at the Olympic Stadium as he won the men's club throw F31/32/51 in a world record of 22.88 metres with Radim Běleš of the Czech Republic taking silver and Lahouari Bahlaz of Algeria the bronze.

The event saw huge disappointment for Britain's Stephen Miller as the 32-year-old from Newcastle, who was named as the ParalympicsGB athletics co-captain for the Games alongside T11 sprinter Tracey Hinton, finished down in 11th.

"I had three bad throws and when you do that at the Paralympics you pay the price," said the three-time Paralympic champion in the event.

"I had a really bad day, I can't make any excuses.

"I haven't had many bad days in my career, so I guess I was due one.


"It's just a shame it was in London.

"It was a great experience with the crowd and I'm gutted I couldn't put in a better performance on the day."

There was better news for Aled Davies (pictured above), who became Britain's first medallist in the Olympic Stadium at the Paralympics as he took bronze in the men's F42/F44 shot.

The 21-year-old Paralympic debutant from Cardiff won the medal with his sixth and final throw of 13.78m to finish behind victor Jackie Christiansen of Denmark and silver medallist Darko Kralj of Croatia.

"I didn't expect a medal so I'm just overwhelmed," said a delighted Davies.

"I wanted to make everyone proud and the crowd were amazing.

"I couldn't hear myself think.


"I don't think they even knew who I was but because I was competing for GB they went wild.

"There wasn't one hair not standing up on the back of my neck.

"I was so pumped up and the adrenalin overtook everything, I had to pull back to around 75 per cent because I felt like I was losing control.

"It was unreal."

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