LONDON 2012: Holmes insists Paralympians will be household names

By James Toney, Sportsbeat

CHRIS Holmes believes British Paralympians are set to become household names - but admits it will be hard work.

FAME GAME: Rebecca Adlington might be a household name after her two Olympic golds but Ellie Simmonds, the teenager who won two Paralympic swimming titles, remains largely unrecognised. That is the biggest challenging facing London 2012's Paralympic chief Chris Holmes (Getty Images)

London 2012's Paralympic chief believes the profile the event will be given by broadcasters Channel 4, who snatched the rights from the BBC, and the prospect of selling two million tickets will change the status of disability sport forever.

However, a recent survey revealed that 84 per-cent of the British public couldn't name a Paralympian - despite the exploits of athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson and swimmer Ellie Simmonds in recent Games.

"That statistic didn't surprise me," said Holmes, a nine-time Paralympic champion and London's 2012 Director of Paralympic Integration.

"The whole of Britain is well aware of the Olympics but the Paralympics, not so much. 

"We want to ensure that every single person in the United Kingdom is exposed to the Games, and that they tune in and get excited and entertained and then we may well have some household names.

"It's about planning and programming. We've got to take these Games to all over the country and tell the whole nation how fantastic these athletes are. 

"We've got to tell all of the regions that there might well be someone from the end of your street that is competing for Great Britain in the Paralympics."

If success breeds profile then the 102 medals British athletes won in Beijing, including 42 golds, will aid the effort and ease the stresses on Holmes.

This weekend 160 aspiring British Paralympians gathered in Bath for the team's first preparation camp, which coincided with today's two year to go anniversary.

"If we put on the greatest Paralympic Games ever staged then the British gold medallists in 2012 will resonate all the whole of the United Kingdom," added Holmes. 

"We need to see people not just dreaming their dreams but realising their potential. 

"Look at the recent IPC World Swimming Championships where we won 16 golds.

"I've got tremendous hopes for them in 2012. We've got strength in depth and there are big expectations but we're also strong in track and field and all across the other 17 sports. 

"But it's not all about swimming - for successful games we need to be winning medals across all of the Paralympic sports and we've got a great chance of delivering that."

This weekend is two years to go to the Paralympics – plan your games at www.london2012.com