By Tom Degun

Sir Philip_Craven_16-01-12January 16 - Sir Philip Craven (pictured), the President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), has praised London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe and his team and predicted the Paralympics will be something far different but possibly better to what was seen at Beijing 2008.


Anticipation for the London 2012 Paralympics is rapidly increasing with February 11 set to mark 200 days to go to the competition.

Sir Philip, who is also an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, as well as a London 2012 Board member, has predicted the competition will be an exceptional success story for the Paralympic Movement.

"I think what happened in Beijing in 2008 surprised many people," wrote Sir Philip in an exclusive blog for insideworldparasport.

"However, as we approach the magical 200-days-to-go marker next month, I believe the level of expectation for London is much higher than it was for Beijing.

"I am extremely confident that Seb Coe and his excellent team at LOCOG will deliver a very different Games from Beijing, taking the best aspects of previous Games to create something quite amazing that could surpass what was achieved in 2008.

"With the whole Paralympic Movement working together, I believe we can deliver something very special in London, which would be fitting as Great Britain is the country where the whole Paralympic Movement started in 1948.

"It's hard to believe that it was just 64 years ago that Sir Ludwig Guttmann gathered a handful of injured servicemen and women on a patch of grass behind Stoke Mandeville Hospital for an archery competition.

"Back then, I doubt anyone would have predicted that London in the year 2012 would host 4,200 athletes from 160 countries competing in 20 sports.

"Thanks to Sir Ludwig Guttmann's vision and the continued excellent work of our members and athletes, we have the opportunity to write the next chapter in the exceptional success story of the Paralympic Games in London later this year."

Sir Philip revealed that the attention of his organisation is focused on the Paralympics beyond London and that the IPC will be looking to work closely with Sochi 2014, Rio 2016 and Pyeongchang 2018 to ensure that the momentum from London 2012 is not lost.

"Aside from London in 2012, the IPC will continue to work hard with the organisers of future Paralympic Games," he said.

"We will also implement lots of activity in conjunction with our members to achieve the six strategic goals outlined in the IPC strategic plan launched last year.

"The Paralympic Games always creates mass awareness for the Movement and it is vitally important that we use them to help increase participation at all levels to ensure that for future Games there is a greater depth of talented athletes across all sports."

To read the full blog click here.

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