The fastest marathon on Earth!
(...and other things you probably weren’t expecting to see at the London 2012 Paralympic Games)
Swap your hard-earned cash for a London 2012 Paralympic Games ticket, now that they've gone back on sale, and you could be rewarded with some surprisingly weird and wonderful sights. Here are five events that may well make your jaw drop.
The fastest marathon on Earth
Event: Men's T54 Marathon
Venue: The Mall
Date: 9 September 2012
One hour 18 minutes and 27 seconds. That’s how little time it took South Africa’s Ernst van Dyk to propel himself 26.2 miles around Boston when he set the wheelchair marathon world record back in 2004. Ernst crossed the finish line three-quarters of an hour quicker than Haile Gebrselassie’s fastest ever marathon time, which makes it easy to forget just how gruelling this race is. With five-time London Marathon winner David Weir and Swiss duo Marcel ‘Silver Bullet’ Hug and wheelchair racing legend Heinz Frei likely to join the green-and-gold star on the starting line, the men’s T54 Marathon at the London 2012 Paralympic Games could be the quickest yet.
Arguably the most politically incorrect sport in the world
Event: Wheelchair Rugby Competition
Venue: Olympic Park, Basketball Arena
Dates: 5-9 September 2012
It’s no wonder the powers that be opted to change the name of wheelchair rugby from its original moniker. But while the title ‘Murderball’ probably didn’t please the marketing people, it does give you an accurate idea of how fast, furious and brutal this sport can be. The players are so hard, they make the thugs featured in a typical Danny Dyer documentary look about as gritty as watercress soup. And they need to be hard, because getting thrown violently from a modified steel battle chair is part and parcel of the game. How they got this one past the Health And Safety Executive is a mystery. But while you’ll no doubt wince at the bone-crunching collisions, you won’t be able to take your eyes off the compelling action.
The most dangerous job in sport?
Event: Athletics, F12-13 Javelin
Venue: Olympic Park, Olympic Stadium
Dates: 5 September 2012
Directing a missile launcher sounds like a pretty cool job, doesn’t it? Now imagine you have to stand in front of the thing. Still sound like a good gig? Welcome to the potentially risky world of the visually impaired javelin thrower’s caller. These intrepid guides take it in turns to stand in a target area on the field and holler out to their athlete to highlight where and how far they should be hurling their spear. Thankfully, these javelin stars throw with almost laser-guided accuracy – the only casualties in this event are the skewered worms in the soil.
Dwarf powerlifters
Event: Powerlifting
Venue: ExCeL
Dates: 30 August-5 September 2012
While these guys may not be much taller than four foot, few can match their lifting prowess, pound-for-pound. Take GB’s top powerlifter, Adam Alderman, for example – as a 48kg lifter, he can press 132kg. That’s almost three times his own bodyweight! Impressive, eh?
Men on trikes!
Event: Road Cycling
Venue: Brands Hatch
Dates: 5-8 September 2012
The tricycle. Normally the preserve of the nursery school playground, the three-wheeled pushbike isn’t traditionally considered a speed machine. That mindset looks likely to change when the CP 1/3 Road Cycling events hits the host venue, Brands Hatch, in September 2012, especially if GB’s pedaller possessed David Stone repeats his Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games double-gold-medal-winning heroics.
To buy tickets for all of the events at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, visit the London 2012 website.