Grey-Thompson tips Britain to shine at 2012 Games

The GB team won 102 medals, including 42 golds in Beijing

Paralympic legend Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson believes a top-three finish for Great Britain at the 2012 Games would be a major achievement.

GB finished second at the last three Games but other nations are chasing hard, with Sunday marking two years until the start of the event in London.

"Finishing in the top three of the medal table is a realistic objective," said the 11-time gold medallist.

"To be beating countries like Germany and the USA is a good place to be."

Plans are already well advanced in terms of both the organisation of the event and the British team's preparations.

The games will see more than 150 nations compete in 20 Paralympic sports over 12 days and Grey-Thompson is hopeful that home advantage can prove crucial.

"I can't imagine there is anything better in an athlete's career than competing in front of 80,000 people - the vast majority of whom will be British supporters," she added.

Swimmer Kindred targets 2012 success

"Two years to go is an important landmark for athletes because they can now start to look in terms of the number of training sessions they have left until the team is selected.

"It's a good reminder of how much work they still have to do and how much focus they need."

Among those training for the Games is swimmer Ellie Simmonds who won two golds in Beijing aged just 13 and the Swansea-based teenager is hoping for more success in 2012.

"I've got to qualify to make sure I get there but it will be great to have the chance to defend my titles," she said.

Her teammate Sascha Kindred will be hoping to compete in his fifth Games after making his debut in Atlanta in 1996.

"As soon as London was announced as the Games host, my attention was focussed solely on that and on getting there in the best possible shape so I can hopefully go out on a high and win gold," he told BBC Sport.

Grey-Thompson confident about 2012

"The home crowd will play a massive part for us as a team. In my medley final in Beijing, there were three Chinese swimmers competing and the crowd just went wild for them and it really lifted them and the team."

London organising committee chairman Sebastian Coe believes that the Paralympics will be a memorable festival of elite sport and is calling on people to play their part.

"We've been designing and building the venues and raising the money to stage the Paralympic on Games, now we want the public to decide how they will spend the summer of 2012," he said.

"There are many ways you can get involved, whether it's buying a ticket, becoming a volunteer, being part of our education or culture programmes or cheering on the Paralympic Torch relay."