Recent figures have highlighted the ongoing benefits the London 2012 Paralympics has had on disabled sports.
According to Sport England’s Active People Survey there has been a 12 per cent increase in disability athletics participation from October 2012 to October 2013.
The survey’s results show there are now 123,800 people taking part in disability sport at least once a week, 13,300 more than the previous findings.
Great Britain’s Paralympic team tallied 32 medals in total at the London Games; 11 gold, seven silver and 14 bronze, the advancements the sport has seen since then though, is equally impressive.
2013 has been somewhat of a breakthrough year for Paralympic athletes with advancements starting back in May at the BT Great City Games.
This year saw the inclusion of para-athletics for the first time in the unique event, earning it major attention and coverage.
Jonnie Peacock, T44 100 metre gold medallist in London, spoke after the Manchester Games: “This is a big leap for Paralympic sports, London 2012 did so much for the sport. It’s events like this we really need to keep on pushing forward and keep in the public eye.
“The BT Great City Games was a huge, huge moment for that. It’s the first big event with big inclusions and TV time that we never really saw before.
“It’s a huge step forward and I’m over the moon to see if progress the way it has.”
The promotion didn’t stop there either. Paralympic athletes competed in front of a sell-out crowd on the third day of the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games and were given prime time coverage at the Sainsbury’s IPC Athletics Grand Prix Final in Birmingham.
The success para-athletes have achieved has been relentless, too. At the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon, back in July, the GB team brought home an impressive 29 medals; 11 gold, nine silver and nine bronze, further cementing their right to media inclusion and coverage.
To top off an already superb year for the sport Hannah Cockroft, double Paralympic and four-time world T34 champion, became the first disabled athlete to make the shortlist for BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year outside of a Paralympic year.
Cockroft told British Athletics: “It’s great to see that more disabled people are getting involved in athletics and hopefully this will continue for a long time.
“It’s also great to see that Sport England’s increased investment in promoting grassroots participation is proving so effective in harnessing the inspiration of elite performances.
“It shows that London 2012 had a real impact on people, attitudes are changing and disability sport is really growing.”
The BBC SPOTY winner will be announced this evening (December 15), with coverage starting at 7.40pm on BBC One.
