Who are the stars of ParalympicsGB?

Of the 4000 athletes competing at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, 301 are British. The stated aim of the British team is to take away at least 103 medals (one more than ParalympicsGB did in Beijing four years ago) and finish second on the medals table (as they have done at the last 3 Games).

So who are the athletes aiming for gold this time round?

In 2008, Ellie Simmonds (pictured) was just 13 when she won two gold medals in the 100m and 400m freestyle swimming events in her S6 class. Ellie, who has a form of dwarfism, is now a mature 17 and hopes to add to that haul this time round.

There will no doubt be new names thrown up as the British team strives for gold.

Swimming could produce up to 50 medals for ParalympicsGB, almost half the entire total – and clearly that won’t all be down to Ellie Simmonds. Sascha Kindred has competed at four Paralympics and won six gold medals. There’s also a 16-year-old newcomer, Hannah Russell, and Sam Hynd, who with his brother Olly makes up one of a few sibling acts at these Games.

The equestrian events are another area where Britain could do well. Lee Pearson has won three gold medals at each of the last three Games and wants another three from London – “to make it 12 at 12” as he puts it. The equestrian team have been set a target of seven medals from these Games.

GB runner ‘threat’ to Pistorius

Athletics too should provide a haul of medals – 19-year old Jonnie Peacock is the poster boy. This blade-runner had to have the lower part of his leg amputated when he got meningitis as a child, but he was clearly born to run. He recently set a new world record, running 100 metres only a little more than a second slower than Usain Bolt (10.85 seconds). He will compete in the T44 100m against arguably the world’s most famous Paralympian, South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius. Today, Pistorius described Peacock as “a huge threat”.

This ParalympicsGB team has a huge range in ages – the youngest is Chloe Davies, an S14 swimmer who is 13, and there are 10 over 50s, including eight-times medal-winner, Di Coates, who is the most experienced member of ParalympicsGB. London will be her eighth Games and she is a member of the shooting squad. This squad is only expecting to win one or two medals with Matt Skelhon and Nathan Milgate the names most often mentioned.

Skelhon took up shooting after a car crash. Within a couple of years he had won gold in the R3 10m air rifle prone SH1 event at the Beijing Games. He is world number one in that event. Milgate is world number one in the R1 10m air rifle standing SH1 event and will go to head with Skelhon this time round.

We have given you a few names to watch over the next days (and you can find a few more here in our Paralympics top tips), but there will no doubt be new names thrown up as the British team strives for gold.

Whatever happens at these Paralympic Games, one thing is certain. It’s all a far cry from the first time Britain won a gold medal at the Paralympics. That was in Rome in 1960, and the medal winner was Margaret Maughan in archery. Her medal is on display at the British Museum.