Often we in the media would hurl questions at him about what we deemed the appalling standards that athletes were being forced to compete in, but very gently and rationally he would simply explain that the athletes were being well looked after by his team.

Hunter was proved correct and he was one of the few to emerge from the 2010 Commonwealth Games in better shape than he entered it – ultimately taking England to third place on the medals table behind only the mighty Australia and hosts India. It proved the team's most successful overseas result despite the challenging environment.

It was probably no real surprise that Hunter handled all the problems with such apparent ease because he has a track record of coming out on top. A former swimmer and the founding director of an award-winning international business consultancy, Hunter has been involved in high performance sport for 13 years. He managed England's swimmers at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002 and in Melbourne in 2006 where they produced outstanding performances at both competitions.

But despite his undoubted expertise, it was somewhat of a surprise to see Hunter named as ParalympicsGB Chef de Mission last September.

It all started after Hunter stepped down from managing Team GB's Olympic preparation camp in Loughborough last year for reasons that were never fully explained.


At the same time, he stepped down from the Team GB delegation leadership team headed by British Olympic Association (BOA) chief executive Andy Hunt despite staying on to act as Chef de Mission for Team GB at the European Youth Olympic Festival last July.

But an opportunity emerged when former British Paralympic Association (BPA) chief executive Phil Lane quit his post last year after 10 years in the position. Lane had served as the ParalympicsGB Chef de Mission at the last four Games and led Britain to second-placed finishes on the medal table at both Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

It was not long after that the BPA appointed Tim Hollingsworth as the new chief executive and it was widely assumed that the former UK Sport chief operating officer would appoint himself as ParalympicsGB Chef de Mission.

But in an astute move Hollingsworth selected Hunter to the role in September last year.

"I have spent my first 10 weeks determining the very best structure for a home Games, both to ensure maximum success for the ParalympicsGB team and extract maximum value for the organisation that sits behind it, the British Paralympic Association (BPA)," Hollingsworth said at the time.

"In Craig we have a hugely experienced, inspirational Chef de Mission whose operational knowledge, eye for detail and leadership qualities will ensure that everything is done to support lifetime best performances by British athletes.

"I firmly believe that this is the right appointment at this time."

Hunter himself admits he is just happy the call came.

"It is a great new challenge and I am really enjoying it," he told me as we sat down together just opposite the Olympic Park in Stratford.

"The first few months in the role were really just about understanding all of the organisation and getting some of the planning in place, but what is really exciting now is the athlete announcements for the Paralympics. That is really what it is all about for me.

"We are aspiring to select a team of about 300 athletes and when you are on the Olympic Park, seeing all the venues, it really is an amazing feeling. We already have a great group of athletes in the ParalympicsGB team. There is no attitude, just a team of consummate professionals who, like me, can't wait to start.

"I'm aware that not many people get this opportunity and it obviously means very much to me.

"Working with 300 great athletes and 200 enormously talented and well-qualified support staff is fantastic for me as the Chef de Mission, and I know we will be as well prepared as possible.

"Another great thing is the positive engagement from the British public. We are seeing huge amounts of media turn up to all of our athlete announcements while more tickets than ever have already been sold for the Paralympics.

"The stadiums now look like they will be full for the Games which is brilliant.

"One of the disappointing things in the past has been the lack of spectators at the Paralympics. When you looked at the great venues in Beijing in 2008 and saw them empty it wasn't a great advert. This time, we know that a lot of the sports are sold out.

"But that presents a challenge for us because we must make sure that our athletes know what to expect. Competing in front of 80,000 people in some instances is massive and they are not used to it. So part of the education programme we are doing is making sure they are as familiar with that process as possible."


Hunter admits he is aware that the pressure will be on him to take Britain to at least second place on the medals table having finished there at Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. He is also aware that the likes of America and Australia will be targeting British scalps at London 2012 but he said it is a pressure his team will embrace.

"Our aspiration is to win more medals in more sports than ever before," he said.

"We have a great track record and we have finished second on the medals table at the last three Summer Games.

"To beat China would be enormously challenging. They won 89 golds in Beijing compared to our 42. Their disabled population is the size of the whole British population so they have a much bigger talent pool. That said, the team we have is enormously talented. We recognise that everyone is going to be gunning for us in every event. If you have big name athletes like Dave Weir everyone wants to beat them.

"But I think being at home and having the British public behind us will make a huge difference."

Hunter already made a statement of intent earlier this year when he left 11-times Paralympic champion Dave Roberts (pictured above) out of the ParalympicsGB team. The 32-year-old from Wales, who has cerebral palsy, is one of Britain's most recognisable Paralympians and had been aiming to overtake the gold medal haul of his great friend Baroness Tanni Grey Thompson, who also has 11 Paralympic gold medals. But Roberts simply did not prove his form following several injuries and Hunter said that there would be no free passes to the Paralympics, even for an athlete of Roberts' stature.

"This is about credible performance, not about getting an easy ride to London 2012," he said.

"We are taking the very best, the very fittest and the most capable athletes. There are no free tickets for anybody across any of our sports because we want to be the best.

"We are set to take a lot of young athletes, who are first-time Paralympians, and this is brilliant not just for London 2012, but beyond.

"This is about momentum because Paralympic sport doesn't stop in London.

"We are aiming to build something here that goes on and on through to Sochi in 2014, Rio in 2016 and beyond.

"London 2012 is a point in time but this is also about momentum forward through to the next two Games.

"But that said, if you don't make the grade for London 2012, you won't be on the ParalympicsGB team because we are very serious about winning medals against the best athletes in the world."

It is a ruthless side that Hunter displayed in Delhi 2010, when he even promised that England would not go unless the correct standards were in place for his athletes. He triumphed in that battle, but he admits that London 2012 will be far different from the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

"Every role is different and I think the role in Delhi was very specific to Delhi," he said.

"We knew that the Games would take place but we wanted to ensure they were the very best Games for everybody and that is was safe for the athletes. In the end, by gentle persuasion and long, long days, we had the most fantastic experience.

"The challenges here are very different because London 2012 has done a superb job in delivering the best venues and selling a huge number of tickets.

"But one of the challenges will actually be being at home. If you talk to athletes and teams who have competed as previous home Games, they will tell you that it is an amazing experience but that it comes with huge pressure and media interest.

"So there is lots of pressure on our athletes but we believe they will cope with that."

As for himself, Hunter is a little more reserved.

"I need to bring the right level of leadership to the team and the appropriate level of leadership to the team.

"Coming into any role, it is about making a difference and I think I have made some difference. I've made some changes and will probably make more as we get closer but what I can't wait for is the fact that we are so well prepared, we will be able to enjoy the sport and go round to all 20 sports supporting the athletes.

And is it something he would like to do beyond London 2012? Perhaps at the Sochi 2014 or Rio 2016 Paralympics?

"I need to absolutely focus on London 2012 and delivering and only after that can we think about what happens next," he said with a smile.

"My only focus right now is on London 2012 and it cannot afford to be anywhere else just yet."

Tom Degun is a reporter for insideworldparasport