5 events not to be missed

With 503 medal events on the London 2012 programme book-ended by the Opening and Closing Ceremony, here are five events we believe could dazzle you. 29 Aug 2012

South Africa's Oscar Pistorius, left, and Great Britain's 19-year-old sprinter Jonnie Peacock will be ones to watch in the men's 100m T44 sprint.

ⒸBT

There will be more than 4,200 athletes competing for 11 days in London at the Paralympic Games.

1. Men’s 100m T44 final (6 September): With a star-studded lineup that could include South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius, Great Britain’s Jonnie Peacock and USA’s Jerome Singleton and Blake Leeper, we all know by now this has be deemed the race of the Games. Do not blink, or you could miss out on witnessing Paralympic history.

2. Wheelchair tennis women’s singles final (7 September): Dutch sensation Esther Vergeer has not lost a singles match since January 2003, extending her winning streak to more than 460 straight matches. It would be a shock if she were not dazzled with gold at Eton Manor, where her toughest competitor will be compatriot Aniek van Koot.

3. Men’s wheelchair basketball final (8 September): As the biggest team sport at the Paralympics in terms of participating athletes, the final in the men’s competition at North Greenwich Arena should draw a large crowd and feature the best of the best. Canada, Great Britain and USA all have the potential to knock off defending Paralympic champions Australia for the title.

4. Men’s 5,000m T54 final (2 September): This could be the first of several T54 finals on the track that feature a trio of wheelchair racing rivals, including Great Britain’s David Weir, Switzerland’s Marcel Hug and Australia’s Kurt Fearnley. At the Beijing 2008 Games, Fearnley raced to gold, but Weir won last year’s world title and Hug is the world-record holder in the event. Your guess is as good as ours as to who will win.

5. Closing Ceremony (9 September): What are expected to be the biggest and most profound Paralympic Games in history will come to a close with a night full of entertainment at London’s Olympic Stadium, as athletes celebrate their achievements and sing along to the headline act, Coldplay.