Before London 2012, Germany had not won gold in women’s wheelchair basketball since 1984.

Mareike Adermann was 18 years old when her basketball career came crashing down.

Four times in as many years she suffered the agony of rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament on her knee. Each bout of surgery meant an eight-month recovery process, and within weeks she had suffered the same injury again.

Now, four years after being forced to call time on her basketball dreams, she wakes up as a wheelchair basketball champion, having scored 19 of Germany’s points in their 58-44 win over Australia in the women’s gold medal match at North Greenwich Arena.

“I can’t even realise how good it is right now,” she says. “Standing up there being the top team in the world is going to take a while to settle in.

“This is the first Paralympic Games for me. When I started in wheelchair basketball I did not even think about the national team, but I was part of the national team after my first year and from then on this was my dream.

“It surprised me in some ways to get into the national team so quickly, but I practiced every day and did a lot of hard work to get there.”

That hard work has certainly paid off.

Adermann, 22, will return to her studies at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in America with a gold medal around her neck and a sporting achievement few ever get the privilege to experience.

“It felt as though we were in control because we were leading from the start and were always up, but it was close at times and it felt very tough.

“We won most of the preparation tournaments throughout the year against all the top teams. We met every team and knew we could do it, but we knew we had to play well to get there and win anything.”

Adermann’s haul of 19 points was the highest individual tally in the gold medal match, and she believes she crept under the radar.

“I’m always one of the shooters, but I think Australia underestimated me and didn’t defend me as well as some of the other girls. They left me open a lot and I got some big shots, so it went well for me. It just worked out that I scored the most points in the final, but it wasn’t deliberate.”

In a physical match that saw numerous players upended – “Australia plays very physically because they press the whole time in defence, but it happens a lot in every tough game” – Adermann and her teammates excelled.

“Most of us are friends off the court and the team’s been together a long while, so that helps when we’re out there,” she said.

With gold medals around their necks, Germany’s women’s wheelchair basketball team is now likely to forge some lifelong friendships.

Before London 2012, Germany had not won gold in women’s wheelchair basketball since 1984. Few will forget this remarkable final, or Adermann’s equally remarkable part in her country’s triumph.

"He was in the lead at 60m, I think, but I pushed hard, and in the end it finished as it's finished in my dreams."

Germany’s Heinrich Popow finally got his London 2012 gold on Friday (7 September), when he set a new European record of 12.40 in the 100m T42 sprint to finish first.

After a mediocre start, the German above-the-knee amputee got into his stride and edged past Australia’s Scott Reardon to edge him out by just three hundredths of a second.

“It was my toughest race ever.” Popow said. “I said after Beijing, when I came second, that the only thing I would like to have now is the gold medal, and I got it.

“I pushed a lot from the beginning to the end. The Australian guy gave me a good race, and I didn't expect that he was that fast. He was in the lead at 60m, I think, but I pushed hard, and in the end it finished as it's finished in my dreams."

The Irish flags were out in force, meanwhile, as sprint sensation Jason Smyth, dubbed the fastest Paralympian on the planet, secured his second gold of the Games with victory in the men’s 200m T13.

Successfully defending the Paralympic sprint double he won in 2008, the Irishman looked invincible as he took an early lead out of the blocks and pulled away quickly from the rest of the field to cross the line in 21.05, bettering his own world record.

“The people here and the British and the Irish, the cheer and support for me has been absolutely fantastic and I'll never forget it,” said Smyth. “It is a home Games and it's been a pleasure to be here competing.”

Not to be outdone, China’s world record holder Liu Ping swiftly followed with her own sprint double, winning the 100m T35 to add to the 200m gold she took on Friday (31 August).

The 27-year-old also improved upon her world record mark as she swept past the European champion Oxana Corso to win in 15.44. In a repeat of the podium places in the 100m, Corso took silver and Virginia McLachlan claimed bronze.

There was further gold medal success for China on the track as world champion Li Huzhao powered through in the closing stages of the 200m T53 to win his second gold of games.

"I'm really excited and didn't expect this. I am a little surprised,” he said. “This medal means too much to me and I will give it to my family. I like it here and I like London - people they shout so loudly.”

China’s Zhang Lixin held on to the 400m T54 title he won in Beijing, coming off the final bend strongly before powering home to gold ahead of European champion Kenny van Weeghel.

In the women’s 1,500m T54, Tatyana McFadden made it a hat trick of gold medals so far, with the 100m T54 and marathon still to come. The 23-year-old made her move with 250m to go and drove strongly to the line. Edith Wolf took silver, her fourth medal of the Games.

"I'm very proud. It was a tough race,” said McFadden. “I had to stay relaxed and take it out on the last two laps. The 1,500m is not my event, it is out of my range. I'm still shocked that I won. I've never won so many golds in my life. It's so rewarding."

It was also gold number three for fellow American Raymond Martin, who swiftly took control of the 800m T52 to add to his victories in the 100m and 400m.

“I just wanted to get the experience at these Games and to get three gold medals is great. I didn't think I could be one of the fastest athletes on the track. The Paralympics has been so unreal, I never thought I'd be on the podium,” he said.

Cristian Valenzuela ran a superb race to win the 5,000m T11 alongside his guide Cristopher Guajardo, who wept tears of joy after crossing the line. The Chilean took up the running with less than three laps remaining, crossing the line in 15:26.26.

Jose Sayovo Armando won Angola’s first gold medal of the Games as he raced home to victory in the men’s 400m T11.

Last on the track was the first round of the men’s 400m T44, with defending champion Oscar Pistorius qualifying fastest with a season’s best 48.31. Blake Leeper won the first heat ahead of 200m champion Alan Fonteles Cardoso Oliviera, with Liu Zhiming, David Behre and David Prince also through automatically.

Todd Hodgetts improved on the world record mark he set earlier this year to take victory in the shot put F20 with 16.29m, despite suffering an injury.

"I had an injury in my elbow. I nearly killed myself with my elbow, it was really painful. I stuck to it and kept to the plan and believed in myself,” said the Australian.

In the men’s discus 37/38, gold went to the 2008 champion Javad Hardani. The Iranian recorded a new F38 world record of 1024 points (52.91m), with silver going to Xia Dong with a F37 world record of 1017 points (55.81m).

Three world records fell in the men’s discus F32/33/34, with Wang Yanzhang setting a new F34 world record on his way to gold, scoring 1166 points (49.03m). Silver went to Hani Alnakhli, with a new F33 world record of 1113 points (34.65m) and bronze went to Lahouari Bahlaz with a new F32 world record of 1081 points (22.30m).

Defending champion and world ranked number one Ilse Hayes, leapt to victory in the long jump F13.

“It was fantastic playing here. I have never played before such a big crowd before, and to beat the gold medal winners from Beijing is just amazing.”

Germany claimed gold medal glory in the women’s wheelchair basketball after seeing off Australia, 58-44, at the North Greenwich Arena on Friday (7 September).

The Beijing 2008 silver medallists were too good for the Aussies, who left themselves with too much to do after a poor start saw Germany establish a 26-19 halftime lead.

There were some German nerves when Australia rallied from 30-19 to narrow the gap to 32-28 towards the end of the third quarter, but the Europeans held firm thanks in part to Mareike Adermann’s 19-point haul.

Cobi Crispin got the first points of the game, pushing Australia ahead after 67 seconds and on their way to a 10-4 advantage midway through the first quarter.

However, Germany fought back with 10 unanswered points to lead 14-10 at the end of the first period.

And the Germans pulled further clear during a physical second quarter that saw numerous players upended.

Adermann, Annika Zeyen and captain Marina Mohnen all finished the first half with eight points each as Germany demonstrated their strength across the court to lead by seven points at the interval.

And despite brave Australia’s best efforts, Germany never relinquished their advantage during a tense second half to secure a memorable triumph.

Earlier Holland, cheered on by the vocal crowd, stunned the USA with a clinical and comprehensive 71-47 victory in the bronze medal match.

The Dutch pulled clear during the middle quarters. They tied the first quarter 16-16 and won the final quarter 11-10, but they were red hot either side of half time.

Inge Huitzing (26 points) and Mariska Beijer (27 points) were the main factors behind Holland winning the second quarter 22-8 and the third quarter 22-13.

Holland landed 48 per cent of their goal attempts, compared to USA’s 43 per cent, and were deserved winners.

Beijer said: “I was really excited at the beginning of the tournament and now as bronze medal winners I am so, so excited.

“It was fantastic playing here. I have never played before such a big crowd before, and to beat the gold medal winners from Beijing is just amazing.”

Fu Yongqing and Long Yun combined to collect 49 points as China claimed fifth place by winning 73-70 against Canada.

China, who finished seventh in Beijing 2008, were inspired by Fu (25 points) and Long (10 points in the fourth quarter).

Hosts Great Britain avoided an eighth-placed finish by beating Mexico 59-37, with Amy Conroy’s 22-point contribution giving her side a comfortable win.

Mexico were 19-18 up at halftime, but Britain produced a devastating 22-4 run over a seven-minute spell to take the match away from their opponents.

In the men’s competition, Spain captain Diego De Paz Pazo held his nerve to give his side a dramatic win against Turkey in a crossover classification match.

Turkey trailed 68-63 with less than two minutes of normal time remaining, only to force the game into overtime after pulling back five unanswered points in the closing seconds.

Murat Arslanoglu almost won it for Turkey, but his shot fell off-target in the last second and Spain pulled clear – thanks largely to De Paz Pazo’s efforts – to record an 86-78 triumph in the added five minutes.

Germany’s men’s team will get the chance to equal their fifth-place finish at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games after defeating Poland 81-66 in the other crossover classification match on Friday (7 September).

Dirk Passiwan (30 points) and Andre Bienek (20 points) both excelled for the Germans.

“Four years ago we went for the gold and we got silver, that sucked. It’s definitely time for gold.”

At London 2012, Germany’s women’s wheelchair basketball team is determined to go one step further than at the Beijing 2008 Games and claim the coveted gold medal after becoming victorious against European rivals the Netherlands in their epic semi-final contest.

Germany will now face Australia in the finals after the Aussies defeated USA, 40-39, in a tightly knotted finish earlier in the day in the other semi-final.

At Beijing 2008, Germany were made to settle for silver after being defeated by USA, 50-38.

Captain of the German side, Marina Mohnen, stated how much more that final has made the European giants want to become Paralympic champions in London.

“Four years ago we went for the gold and we got silver, that sucked,” she said. “It’s definitely time for gold.”

This attitude was clear to see as the German team powered their way through against tricky competition from the Netherlands with Mohnen racking up 20 points for her team in a match that finished 49-46.

The 33-year-old scored three vital points in the last 90 seconds that clinched the game for her team.

“I am very, very relieved it worked out,” she said. “I was very happy when we got the baskets at the end."

Germany are yet again leading the way for the rest of Europe when it comes to women’s wheelchair basketball, as they are set to make their second consecutive Paralympic finals appearance when they face a robust and dangerous Australian outfit.

Australia overcame the USA in their tightly contested semi-final match 40-39, as they defended aggressively and pounced on the American side with a blistering counter attack.

Mohnen commented that her side is fully aware that Australia will look to deploy their rough, in your face style, which has proved very effective so far in shaking up their opponents and exploiting their weaknesses.

“They play a tough defence and they like to foul a lot,” she said, “they really try to destroy the teams they play against."

Coach Holger Glinicki explained that Australia will not be able to just count on pure, brute force to win them the game.

“We have to play our game, if they want to try to kill our game, we have a strategy against a defensive press,” the coach said.

Glinicki believes his side’s speed and quality will create and open game, as he will set his side up to go at the Australian team from start to finish.

He said: “Australia are a very good defensive team, they play a very hard defensive press but with our fast players Edina Mueller and Annika Zeyen, we have more options to play against the pressed defence.

“So I think it will be an open game, similar to the game against the Netherlands, it's more than 50-50 for us."

Germany have dealt with their path to the final with relative ease as they dominated Group A, which included an impressive opening game performance against 2008 Paralympic winners, USA.

The captain emphasised the significance of that victory over USA in building momentum for the rest of the competition.

She said: “Of course it is important to win your first game, beating the USA gave us a lot of self confidence and the momentum to keep progressing through every game.”

Victories against France, China and Mexico, saw them breeze through the group stage and set up an interesting quarter-final encounter against Great Britain, in which Germany defeated the reigning European champions, 54-44.

Mohnen will look to lead her team to the gold medal that they desire so much and she has the utmost faith in her teammates.

“I will say to them before the match, 'girls we know what we can do, we are a good team and if we do what we can we will win.'"