Paralympians depart for London

Korea's main athletic delegation for the upcoming Paralympics in London departed for the host city Friday, ready to top their gold medal counts from the previous Paralympics four years ago.

A total of 101 athletes and officials in eight sports, including sailing, archery, shooting and tablet tennis, left the country for the Aug. 29-Sept. 9 Paralympics. South Korea will send a total of 149 athletes and officials, with a stated goal of winning 11 gold medals.

The country grabbed 10 gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

"Our athletes are so determined that they're like beasts chasing their prey," said Jang Choon-bae, the chief delegate. "The goal is to win 11 gold, but I expect better performances. Our strengths are table tennis, archery, shooting and swimming, and we can also win titles in other sports."

Min Byeong-eon, who won silver in men's 50-meter backstroke in S3 classification in Beijing, said he is eager to do one better this time.

"When I first began training for London, I didn't know this day would ever come, but now it's finally hit me," he said. "I've prepared hard. I will try to relax and get the gold medal."

In Paralympics swimming, classifications for freestyle, backstroke and butterfly run from S1 for the most severe disability to S10 for the minimal disability.

Athletes in other events such as judo and weightlifting are scheduled to leave on Saturday.

This will be the 14th Summer Paralympics. The first formal Paralympics was held in Rome in 1960. Since Seoul in 1988, the Paralympics have been held in the same host cities as the Olympics.

The Seoul event was also the first one in which the term "Paralympics" was officially used. It had been called "the International Games for the Disabled" and "the Olympics for the Disabled." (Yonhap)