Paralympic Athletes Arrive At London's Heathrow Airport

Paralympic athletes have begun "jetting into Britain in large numbers, on what is expected to be the busiest day at Heathrow airport in the runup to the Games," according to Lizzy Davies of the London GUARDIAN.  A spokesperson for the airport said that about 200 people, including around 80 wheelchair users, "arrived on Wednesday morning, with a total of 2,100 Paralympics competitors and delegates expected throughout the day." More than 400 wheelchair users are expected to arrive at Heathrow on Wednesday, and while the airport "has built specialist lifts and other facilities in preparation for the Paralympics, the challenge has been arguably biggest for the airlines flying in the athletes" (GUARDIAN, 8/22). Also in London, Tom Peck wrote that "specialist workshops, which have been set up in the athletes' village and at all the Paralympic competition venues," opened Wednesday, manned by an int'l team of 80 prosthetists, orthotists and wheelchair technicians (INDEPENDENT, 8/22).