Woods and Bushell - who both secured medals at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games – set to compete at the event, which started yesterday, in the T54 800 metres and T53 400m respectively on the penultimate day of the competition on Saturday (September 3).

The races will be exhibition events to promote Paralympic sport worldwide and Woods admitted she is excited ahead of the competition.

"It's an amazing opportunity to compete on such a huge stage ahead of next summer," said the 24-year-old from Blackpool, who is the T54 1500m world record holder.

"To be part of the IAAF World Championships, even in an exhibition race, is great.

"The 800m will provide more of a challenge than if it had it been a 1500m, but I've been working a lot on my speed this summer and it's going give me the chance to put into practice what I've been doing in training.

"It's a World Championships race, but it's not the World Championships as such, so the pressure is a bit less.

"It's going to be a world class field though and it'll be a real test - I'm really excited to be part of it, it's huge."

Woods and Bushell both claimed medals at the Christchurch 2011 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Athletics Championships this January to help Britain finish third on the medal table with 38 medals and UK Athletic Paralympic head coach Peter Eriksson believes the result in New Zealand will is a good sign for the team ahead of London 2012, which is due to start on August 29 next year.

"Overall, I think that result shows that we've increased the base standard at which our guys are competing," said Eriksson.

"That's partly due to increased competition opportunities but also due to the commitment from the athletes and the no-excuses environment in which we're operating."

There are thoughts that the IPC World Athletics Championships and the able bodied World Athletics Championships may be held simultaneously in the future and the event in Daegu has already seen top Paralympians action with Ireland's Jason Smyth competing in the 100m and South African Oscar Pistorius becoming the first amputee athlete to race at the competition – where he has made the 400m semi-final.

"Domestically we've worked hard to provide world class competition for our athletes to promote the sport to the British public, both in standalone competitions and integrated events," said Eriksson.

"Now that we've got two integrated events in Daegu involving our own athletes, plus Oscar Pistorius competing for South Africa and Jason Smyth competing for Ireland in the core programme; that offers the perfect marketing tool for London 2012 and promotes the sport to a global audience.

"These guys are great ambassadors for our sport and will showcase Paralympic athletics at its best."


With around two million tickets for the London 2012 Paralympic Games due to go on Friday (September 9) and Woods (pictured) is confident that with a year to go, her own training preparations are going to plan.

"I can't believe it that it's a year to go," she added.

"I was reading Dave's Twitter [three-times World Champion David Weir] and he was talking about it and you suddenly realise it's not far away.

"I just don't know where time has gone since Beijing, but I'm in a good place and training is going well.

"So long as I keep doing what I'm doing I think that this time next year, a week or so out from the Games, I'll be in an even better place.

"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to compete in a home Games and you need to grab that opportunity and give it everything."

A record number of 4,200 athletes from 150 countries are likely to compete in London and more media than ever before are expected to attend.

It is anticipated that the number of TV viewers will top the cumulated audience of 3.8 billion that tuned in for the Beijing 2008 Paralympics with the event set to take place from August 29 to September 9 next year.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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