While athletes competing at the Paralympics work hard to get the most out of themselves in their performances, behind the scenes of every athlete are support parents, partners and families.

Pat Ribbans, from Wales, has come to Beijing to watch her daughter Pippa Britton, who competes in Wheelchair Archery W2.

"It's a great honor for my daughter to come here to compete for the British. I'm proud of her," she said.

Mr. and Mrs. Walsh, the parents of Dustin Walsh (Canada), who will participate in the Men's 400m T11, sit in the back row of level one in the Bird's Nest.

"To be a congenital blind, he showed his running potential as a young boy. I used to be his guide runner till 2003 when he found a new guide. He runs faster with this new guy, even with the mark of 53s," Mr. Walsh said. "No matter which place he gets, we will celebrate for him."

Among the crowd of spectators, three avid fans of Julie Smith (Australia) have traveled to Beijing to watch her competition. Smith has qualified through to the finals of the Women's 200m T46. They are her fiance Ray Sherring and her parents-in-law to be Mr. and Mrs. Sherring.

"Julie has been training for only one year, not eight or ten years. We know her parents. Her father was a competitive swimmer. At the beginning, Julie followed her father to try swimming, but later she found more interests in running," Mr. Sherring said.

Ray and Julie got engaged two years ago, and planned to get married this year. But after the Australian trials, Smith was selected to compete at the Beijing Paralympic Games, and everything (including the wedding) had to be put on hold.

(BOCOG September 11, 2008)