Paralympics boosts profile of disabled but no panacea

New Zealand's Tim Prendergast (R) competes in the 800 metres final at the eleventh Paralympic Games in Sydney in this file photograph dated October 20, 2000. REUTERS/files

LONDON (Reuters) - Walking with Paralympic Gold Medallist Tim Prendergast along one of London's busiest streets, 'disability' is not the first word that springs to mind.

Weaving through the heaving crowds outside Baker Street underground train station, Prendergast, who is blind except for peripheral vision, crosses a road without pause - exhibiting the focused confidence that led him to victory in the T13 800m in Athens in 2004 with a time of 1:56.23.