The London 2012 Paralympic Games are, in my opinion, shaping to be the greatest ever.

As proud as Australia is of the Games we put on in 2000, the growth and maturation of Paralympic sport in the intervening period has been breathtaking and Athens and Beijing were outstanding in raising the bar in successive steps.

London will recalibrate it all again.

Having been through the experience of a home Games, I understand the pre-party anxiety and nerves that exist right now in Britain.

It is a feeling that is shared equally between the fans, the staff and leadership of the Organising Committee, the Government and the home team athletes and coaches. Rest assured, once it starts, it is a moment to be celebrated and embraced.

You will do well, you will have fun, it will all work and the world will be mightily impressed. The naysayers and stay-awayers will be the captives of regret come mid-September.

Not only will we witness sporting excellence that will be as elite as it is inspirational, the presentation of the show itself will engage a massive and international legion of Paralympic sport fans in ways not imagined only three Summer Games ago.

There is, of course, the juicy ingredient of Australia competing in Britain. For those not familiar with our historical and cultural ties, it might appear odd that two nations so geographically separated can enjoy such a fierce, enduring and heartfelt rivalry on the field of play.

It is as real as the sun coming up.

While we are very proud of this campaign – never before has an Australian Paralympic team had a preparation as thorough – we know two things. Firstly, the level of planning and preparation we have put in is simply the core of what is needed for athletes to achieve their best. Secondly, the home nation has the potential, if not an expectation, of a seriously impressive performance sitting right in front of them.


Australia's Kurt Fearnley (pictured) is doing all he can to lay down a great historical marker by winning three successive gold medals in the men's wheelchair marathon.  David Weir, surely one of the UK's highest profile and beloved athletes, has the tantalising opportunity to win not just that, but a few on the track along the way. It will be a great rivalry and one we are very much looking forward to. But the home side is always the favourite in an otherwise even contest.

We are certainly feeling optimistic. We have an outstanding group of athletes and an equally first class group of coaches, section managers, sports science and medicine, media and team operations staff providing the support architecture.

Will Australia do well?

It is the Australian way to be upbeat and we are very pleased with where things are at right now. How it finally pans out, time will tell.

It is might sound like a terrible cliché, but I am genuine in my confidence that Paralympic sport, its values, impacts and athlete profiles will have a very different glow come the morning of 12 September this year.

The world is better for the Paralympic Games and all that it represents. London will deliver one of unrivalled quality and impact.

Very importantly, the UK will be left with a wonderful legacy as valuable for its cultural and social impacts as much as the physical assets - regardless that Kurt Fearnley knocked David Weir off by a 10th of a second in the marathon!

Jason Hellwig is the chief executive of the Australian Paralympic Committee and Chef de Mission of the London 2012 Australian Paralympic team