Double Paralympic marathon champion Kurt Fearnley says he is excited about racing his closest rival David Weir on his home soil at next year's Paralympic Games in London.

Having competed in the Sydney 2000 Paralympics, proud Australian Fearnley knows just how special it is to compete in a home Games and has warned Weir not to expect everything his own way in 2012.  

Speaking to www.paralympic.org, Fearnley said: "I know London 2012 is going to be something special for Dave as it's his home Games. Back in Sydney I know how much it meant to me to be racing in front of my home crowd with all my friends and family there.

"He's going to have some fierce competition in 2012 and not just from myself but through all the boys.

"I known Huggy Bear (Switzerland's Marcel Hug) hit some huge form last year breaking five world records so he's really going to be going for it in London, but so am I!"

In London Fearnley is looking to compete in all track events from 800m through to 5,000m, as well as the marathon, an event he won gold in earlier this year at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand.

In London the 30 year old world champion will face stiff competition for the marathon title against Weir, a man who has won the annual London event on a record five occasions.

Although the T54 wheelchair racing class which Fearnley and Weir compete in is arguably the most competitive in Paralympic Sport, the Australian says the intense rivalry is isolated just to the track.

Kurt Fearnley said: "There is a rivalry between us on the track, but off it we're pretty good mates. I think me and Dave have probably has the most competitive relationships over the last six years, yet off the track we're good friends.

"If we're all competing away somewhere we'll hang out together. We'll go for a casual roll together, eat dinner together and spend time with his coach and family and vice versa.

"Although we may be friends off the track, in competition when we're on the track it's very different. A couple of the other racers would probably send me to the kerb as much as race me, but all in all they are pretty good fellows."

Kurt Fearnley, David Weir and Marcel Hug are just three of the 4,200 athletes from around 150 countries expected to compete at next year's Paralympic Games in London which get underway on 29 August.

More than one million people have so far registered for tickets for London 2012 Paralympic Games tickets which go on-sale on 9 September 2011.

To register for tickets, please visit www.tickets.london2012.com

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Notes to the Editor:
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the International Federation for nine sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates the World Championships and other competitions. The IPC is committed to enabling Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to developing sport opportunities for all persons with a disability from the beginner to elite level. In addition, the IPC aims to promote the Paralympic values, which include courage, determination, inspiration and equality.

Founded on 22 September 1989, the IPC is an international non-profit organization formed and run by 170 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) from five regions and four disability specific international sports federations (IOSDs). The IPC Headquarters and its management team are located in Bonn, Germany.

For further information, please contact Craig Spence, IPC Media and Communications Senior Manager on e-mail: craig.spence@paralympic.org or call +49-228-2097-230. Alternatively, please visit www.paralympic.org or www.ParalympicSport.TV