Going for glory in London

Tomorrow evening, the opening ceremony for the 2012 Paralympics will serve as the world’s portal to over 4,000 athletes which Channel 4, the host country’s broadcaster, have been calling superhumans in their clever, pre-Games advertising campaign.

Forty-nine of them will be Irish and some of them you will know. Like Jason Smyth and Michael McKillop, our gold medal winners in athletics in Beijing four years ago. Or Mark Rohan, the reigning World Handcycling Time Trial and Road Race world champion.

In all, five of those wearing green over the next two weeks will be carrying the title of reigning world champion while only injury prevented double Paralympic champion and world record holder Smyth making it a round half-dozen.