So many inspiring stories…

Although Paralympic officials insist that media coverage of personal backstories shouldn'€™t detract from competitors'€™ athletic achievements, you can’t ignore the fact that the one thing that really marks the Paralympics out from other sporting events is the remarkable tales that have led some of the competitors taking up para-sports, and triumphing in the face of almost impossible odds.

Take the Rwandan sitting volleyball team (above), for example, who were set up by two people from opposite sides of the Hutu-Tutsi war and genocide in the early 1990s, who became the first team from sub-Saharan Africa to compete in the Paralympic competition.

Or British discus thrower Derek Derenalangi, who competed in front of an 80,000-strong cheering home crowd despite being declared dead following a Taliban bomb attack in Afghanistan five years ago.

And how about Haitian road cyclist Gaysli Leon, who turned to the sport after not only losing the use of his legs in the devastating 2010 earthquake, but also his wife and eight children.

The list could go on and on, as there have been some utterly stellar achievements by some truly amazing people during 11 remarkable days of sporting action in London.