It is over a week since the conclusion of the 2011 Parapan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico and I've had some time to reflect on what was a great event.

Firstly the local organising committee deserve credit for putting on a great showcase of parasport, whilst the people of Guadalajara and Mexico should also be recognised for providing some great hospitality and extremely vocal support for all our athletes and teams.

The Parapans were the last major international multisport event ahead of London 2012, and as a result competition across all sports was fierce, especially in team sports where some of the final qualification places for next year were at stake.

I was at most of the team sport finals and the intensity of the Games was really something else.


In individual events many of the nations took different approaches. Brazil (pictured), for example, sent pretty much their strongest team to Guadalajara and this was reflected in the final medals table. They won 197 medals, including 81 golds, a feat that placed them well and truly at the top.

Others countries sent some young up and coming athletes to the Games with differing results, whilst others discovered new talents. USA uncovered two absolute gems who I would be surprised not to see in London next year.

Chelsea McClammer, a T53 athlete, had a great Games winning five gold medals and one bronze. She's only 17-years-old and may well feature for the US next year in the British capital.

Jarryd Wallace is also a name to look out for in 2012. He only had his leg amputated 15 months ago, yet in running 11.31 to win the 100 metre T44 gold, he ran faster than both Oscar Pistorius or Jerome Singleton did in the final at January's IPC Athletics World Championships.

Host nation Mexico also discovered a star of their own in Luis Andrade Guillen, a winner of eight medals in the pool including four golds.

Paralympic sport is on something of an upward curve at the moment in the Americas and there is no place where it is enjoying more success than in Brazil.

Following the Parapan American Games, a handful of us from the IPC have flown down to Rio for our first project review with the organising committee of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

During our stay in Rio it has been superb to see some of the media attention the Brazilian athletes have been enjoying on local and national news and rightly so.

It is not every day that an athlete wins an astonishing 11 gold medals in one Games and swimmer Daniel Dias deserves every bit of publicity he is getting at the moment. Dias will certainly be another one to watch next year in London.


The Brazil team was welcomed home from Mexico by the Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, which again was well covered by the national media. That coverage reached fever pitch at the weekend when the logo for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games was unveiled to the world.

In Brazil, the unveiling was broadcast live on one of the country's most popular TV programmes to an estimated 50 million people whilst nearly 100 other media attended to ensure the rest of the world see the new emblem.

I am confident that something special is happening here in the Americas and our aim is to continue the momentum generated this week in Brazil and last week in Mexico through until the 2015 Parapan American Games and the 2016 Paralympic Games here in Rio.

Xavier Gonzalez is the chief executive of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).