2057: BLADE RUNNER WARNING: The men’s 400m T44 final is one hour away. Make sure you are parked in front of this blog at 2157 London time, because Oscar Pistorius is set to bring the athletics program to a close with a gold medal-winning dash.
0940: “At last
My love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song
Oh yeah yeah
At last
The skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up in clover
The night I looked at you…”
0954: Oscar Pistorius:
“It was very, very special to me. It was the 11th time I came out on the track [this summer]. And I wanted to give the crowd something to remember.”
Mission accomplished then.
1306: A phenomenal end to London 2012 for the “Weirwolf.” He’s taken the marathon in 1 hour and 30 minutes, just one second ahead of Switzerland’s Marcel Hug and Australia’s Kurt Fearnley. There’ll be parties in London tonight, let me tell you.
1553: It pains me too, let me tell you. But I've always been a cup-half-full type of gal. And in just a few short hours the party of the year (can you have two in one year?) kicks off at the Paralympic Stadium...
1642: There is only one thing left to watch, so make sure you don’t miss it! At half-time in the 7-a-side football final, Russia and Ukraine are still deadlocked at 0-0. Hopefully there will be something to cheer in the second half…
1706: We have the opening goal at the Riverbank Arena and it has gone to 2008 silver medalists Russia! Eduard Ramonov evaded the Ukraine defence and hammered his shot beyond goalkeeper Kostyantyn Symashko.
Ukraine have it all to do if they are going to defend the title they won in Beijing.
1710: Here's more on the wheelchair rugby gold medal clash between Canada and Australia.
The team from Down Under annihilated their Canadian opponents this afternoon in the last Paralympic final to be held in the Basketball Arena. It was expected to be a close match with both teams taking medal spots in the sport in recent Games.
Canada beat Beijing champions USA in the semifinals and were looking strong going into the deciding match. Australia took silver four years ago and were gunning for the top spot this time round. And they didn’t hold back -- the green and golds were a force to be reckoned with from the word “Go!”
Like a Batt out of hell, Australia’s Ryley Batt (see what I did there?) started dominating the scoreboard. For seasoned Paralympian Batt, a 23-year-old hailing from the mid north coast city of Port Macquarie, this was his third Games outing. He became the youngest Paralympic rugby player in the world at the age of 15-years at the Athens Games in 2000.
Canada tried to stay goal-for-goal but the couldn't match the speed, strength and smooth but aggressive maneuvers of the Aussies. Soon, the match got away from the North Americans.
Final score: Canada 51 – Australia 66
20.15: We are just 15 minutes away from the Closing Ceremony festivities. People are gathering in the stadium as excitement buzzes all around the venue. Are you looking forward to the world's largest party in London?
2122: Para-Para-Paradise next from Coldplay. How fitting this song is played at the end of an incredible Para-Para-Paralympics…
2127: You might want to put a coat on, it’s wintertime in our journey through the seasons. A snow queen is about to be unveiled as ice dancers perform around her. The queen is Vikoria Modesta, a lower-leg amputee who is a model and singer/songwriter.
2232: Sir Philip Craven, IPC President describes the London Paralympic Games as "the best ever" and declares the games closed.
He says: “These have been quite simply, amazing Paralympic Games. Four years ago, the Beijing Closing Ceremony’s theme was a letter to the future…
“By building a giant themepark for sport in East London… you have helped inspire a generation.
“These were not just London’s Games but buoyed by medal success of host nation, this country has enjoyed a real feel-good factor like never before.
“The biggest cheer of London 2012 for now as we say thank you again to the thousands of gamesmakers.
“And now let us also acknowledge a band of people who stepped into breach and went beyond far beyond call of duty -- British armed forces and emergency services.
“The compact and execellent Paralympic Games became a home-from-home and launched 4,200 athletes to orbit with no limits.”
2235: The moment has arrived, British Paralympic heroes Jonnie Peacock and Ellie Simmonds extinguish the magnificent Olympic cauldron, passing the flame on to a host of torch bearers.
Emotions are running high, the end is in sight.
2237: But there’s no let up, no time to feel down. Jay Z joins Coldplay and Rihanna on stage to perform “Run this Town.” In a slight change to the song’s original line-up, Coldplay replace Kanye West. A natural choice…
2244: There must be thousands of wobbly bottom lips inside that stadium as Coldplay move onto “The Scientist.” On the screens, a montage is shown of the unforgettable moments which have littered these Games.
As the tears stream down your face? You said it, Chris Martin. This is all getting a bit too much.
2248: This is it, the final song of Coldplay’s set. The Rio 2016 organizing committee must be shuffling uncomfortably in their seats, how will they top this?
2309: What seems like a lifetime ago, during the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games, Sebastian Coe said: “Our history has prepared us for today. This is our time.”
And what a time we had. The wave of euphoria which engulfed London during the Olympics swept through the Paralympics and spurred athletes on to unbelievable feats.
2319: I am in a post-Paralympic London and I already dislike it. We are sat here in a numb state watching montages of outstanding sporting feats performed by athletes from across the globe.
It has been my absolute pleasure to be part of this ride and I hope you have enjoyed our coverage of the Paralympics here in London. I guess there is little left to say but thank you to those who left comments and tweeted.
Now we look ahead to Rio where I can only hope that attitudes continue to change and the legacy of London 2012 becomes a reality, inspiring a new generation. I can not wait to see more spectacular Olympics and Paralympics in the future and the new wave of athletes that come into our lives.
Until then, it's "Bye" for now, over to Tom to do the final wrap up...
