Paralympics on TV

Our guide to the Paralympics TV schedule and five gold-hungry Aussie Paralympians to watch

First published on 20 Aug 2012. Updated on 10 Sep 2012.

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As most of the nation recovers from Olympic Games fever, those still burning up with national pride shouldn’t forget the London 2012 Paralympic Games. With the Opening Ceremony kicking off August 30 at 5.30am with a performance by Coldplay, all 11 days of competition will be covered on ABC1 and ABC2.

ABC1 will offer daily live coverage in the early mornings (4-8.30am) from August 31 to September 10, and an additional highlights program in the evenings (6-7pm) from August 30 to September 10. ABC2 will also air daily live coverage in the evenings (7-11pm) from August 30 to September 9. The Closing Ceremony will air on ABC1, September 10 at 5.20 am and for those that missed out on any live events, all the action can be streamed on ABC iView.

Some Aussies and events to keep an eye on include:

Kurt Fearnley
Wheelchair marathon legend, Kurt Fearnley leads a 13-strong wheelchair track and road contingent. The men’s marathon event airs Sunday September 9 (7-11pm) on ABC2.

Evan O’Hanlon
Posting a new world T38 class 100m sprint record in July, the 24-year-old is on track to add to the three Paralympic gold medals he won in the 2008 Beijing Games. Catch him on Friday September 7 and Saturday September 8 (7-11pm) on ABC2.

Tim Sullivan
Australia’s most successful Paralympian, Sullivan will be looking to add to his record of ten Paralympic gold medals. His first event airs Sunday September 2 (7-11pm) on ABC2.

Matthew Cowdrey
With swimming coming a close second to athletics for Australia’s strongest field, eight-time Paralympic gold medallist Matthew Cowdrey may be the one to change this, needing only three gold medals to top Tim Sullivan’s medal record. Catch him in the swimming finals, airing Saturday September 8 (4-8.30am) on ABC1.

Men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball
After both teams emerged victorious from the 2012 World Challenge in July, the Australian teams are looking ripe for two gold medals. First games air on Friday August 31 (4-8.30 am) on ABC1.

Words by Laura Murphy-Oates |

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