London Mayor Boris Johnson put on a show-stealing performance as he gave a speech to jubilant crowds at the end of the Olympics and Paralympics parade today. Riotous laughter erupted outside Buckingham Palace as the mayor promised to keep it short after hundreds of athletes had been on floats all day waving their way through the capital and not allowed to ‘touch a drop of beer.’ Describing the wrap-up as the ‘final tear-sodden juddering climax’ he gave a speech full of patriotism and humour. He elicited a massive cheer when thanking the military, police, volunteers and helpers. He said: ‘You routed the doubters and you scattered the gloomsters and for the first time in living memory you caused Tube train passengers to break into spontaneous conversation with their neighbours about subjects other than their trod-on toes.’ Olympians Zara Phillips, Tom Daley and Mo Farah lapped up the acclaim.
Pride of Britain: Boris praises Team GB for ‘inspiring a generation’ - and beating France, Germany and Australia - as Olympic parade in front of ONE MILLION Londoners ends a glorious summer of sport
Fireworks light up the stadium during the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Photograph: Michael Steele/Getty Images Europe
Goodbye to Britain’s golden summer
Sunday night saw the end of London’s extraordinary Games. It was a time in which Britain was forced to look in the mirror – and saw something it rather liked, writes Jonathan Freedland
The sun sets over the Olympic Park ahead of the the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
London 2012 Paralympics closing ceremony – live
South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius celebrates after winning the men’s 400m - T44 final in the Olympic Stadium at the London 2012 Paralympic Games September 8, 2012. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett
Pistorius wins final track gold of London Paralympics
Oscar Pistorius (front) of South Africa runs to win the Men’s 400m T44 Final during the London 2012 Paralympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in London September 8, 2012. REUTERS/Andrew Winning
Pistorius wins final track gold of London Paralympics
LONDON (Reuters) - South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius brought the curtain down on a summer of thrills in the Olympic Stadium when he won the final Paralympic track gold medal with a dominant display in the men’s 400 metres on Saturday.
It was a happy ending for Pistorius who finished the Paralympic Games with an individual gold after failing to successfully defend the 100 and 200 titles he won in Beijing four years ago. He also won a gold medal in the 4x100 relay.
Pistorius finished nearly four seconds ahead of his nearest rival, Blake Leeper who was followed home by David Prince of the United States, while Brazil’s Alan Oliveira, who beat the South African in the 200 this week, finished fourth.
Photograph: Jamie McDonald/Getty Images
Peacock crosses the line first and shrieks with delight
Paralympics 2012: men’s 100m - in pictures
The best images from the men’s T43/44 100m final as Oscar Pistorius - silver medalist in the 200m - looks to re-establish his sprint reputation against the favourite Britain’s Jonnie Peacock in the battle of the blade runners
Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/PA
Peacock surges away from the pack, with Pistorius labouring behind him. The Brit looks uncatchable as he nears the finish line. Pistorius, meanwhile, is desperately chasing a medal, but his compatriot Fourie appears to have the better of him
Paralympics 2012: men’s 100m - in pictures
The best images from the men’s T43/44 100m final as Oscar Pistorius - silver medalist in the 200m - looks to re-establish his sprint reputation against the favourite Britain’s Jonnie Peacock in the battle of the blade runners
Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA
After two aborted starts, finally the race gets underway … Peacock gets out of the blocks fastest in lane six. Oliveira starts poorly, as he often does, in lane three, while Pistorius is up and away cleanly in lane four
Paralympics 2012: men’s 100m - in pictures
The best images from the men’s T43/44 100m final as Oscar Pistorius - silver medalist in the 200m - looks to re-establish his sprint reputation against the favourite Britain’s Jonnie Peacock in the battle of the blade runners
Paralympics: Oscar Pistorius wins his 100m T44. Other athletes have backed his call for the rules on blades to be changed. Photograph: Emilio Morenatti/AP
Paralympics: running blades row deepens as Pistorius returns to track
Leading athletes back call for rules to be changed, while South African officials claim rivals cheated with mid-contest switch
The row sparked by Oscar Pistorius, the poster boy for the Paralympic movement, when he claimed he was unfairly beaten in the 200m T43/44 final deepened on Wednesday night as he returned to competition.
As other leading athletes backed his call for the rules to be changed, South African officials wrote to the world governing body to suggest some of his rivals were cheating by switching blades mid-competition.
Pistorius returned to the Olympic Stadium for the first time since his shock defeat, winning his heat to qualify for Thursday’s 100m final alongside the Brazilian who beat him in the 200m and Britain’s Jonnie Peacock, who recorded the fastest time.
Shocked: Oscar Pistorius was run down by Alan Oliveira in the final 50m of the race Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Oscar Pistorius stunned as he is beaten into second place by Brazilian Alan Oliveira in T43/44 200m
If you were seeking a name to symbolise, even transcend Paralympic sport, it would be that of Oscar Pistorius. But the great South African had urged spectators at these London Games to focus not on the athletes’ disability, but on their ability, and his own performance offered a stirring support for that clarion call.
The pity was that, ultimately, he could not deliver on the anticipation as he suffered a shock defeat to Brazil’s Alan Oliveira in the final of T43/44 200 metres.
He was, plainly, furious at the defeat. In a post-race interview he indicated that Oliveira, who prevailed in a time of 21.45 seconds, had the advantage of having longer prosthetic legs. Indeed, he held profound reservations about some of his fellow competitors, pointing out that Oliveira and American Blake Leeper had lengthened their prostheses in pursuit of an advantage.
“We’re not racing a fair race here,” he said immediately after the race. “The regulations say that you can make yourself unbelievably high. I think Alan’s an unbelievable athlete but I don’t think you can come from eight metres behind to win.”
Indeed he had raised the issue beforehand as well. “The rules allow them to make themselves longer,” he had said before this final. “If you look at videos from last year, Alan was shorter than me but now he’s taller than me. I don’t take away from their performances. I think they’re great athletes, but it’s clear that these guys have very long strides.”
This was not a race without its intrinsic flaws. Arnu Fourie, Pistorius’ fellow South African, set a world record of his own in the T44 class and yet never stood a chance of gold. It was the fault of the classification system that Fourie was even competing in the same race as more celebrated compatriot, when his disability – he lost his left leg in a motorboat accident in 2003 – was medically recognised as more severe
Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters The cauldron burns in the Olympic Stadium
Paralympics 2012 opening ceremony – in pictures
A spectacular night in east London as the Games get under way with fireworks, flags, umbrellas and more
Tribute to Newton: More than 40 inflatable apples float around the stadium as the audience were asked to bite down on 62,046 apples which had been handed out to them as they entered the stadium
London 2012 welcomes the Paralympics back home: Remarkable performers soar to new heights to set standard for golden Games
Head for heights: Former Royal Marine Joe Townsend, whose legs were blown off by an IED in Afghanistan, carried the Paralympic Flame into the stadium on a zip wire from the top of the neighbouring 377ft (115m) high ArcelorMittal Orbit tower
London 2012 welcomes the Paralympics back home: Remarkable performers soar to new heights to set standard for golden Games
Legend: Margaret Maughan, who won an archery gold at the first Paralympics in 1960, lights the cauldron
London 2012 welcomes the Paralympics back home: Remarkable performers soar to new heights to set standard for golden Games
Heritage: Sir Ian McKellen returns as Prospero from The Tempest, the narrative of which was weaved through the ceremony
Opening with a Big Bang! Disabled genius Stephen Hawking is the star turn at the London 2012 Paralympics Opening Ceremony - and after a day of rain how sensible to have brought so many umbrellas
