PARALYMPICS: A SHAVINGTON man has received one of the highest accolades in Greece in recognition of his contribution in making the recent Paralympics a huge success.

In a special ceremony, Phil Craven, the president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), was presented with an honorary gold medal of the city of Athens for services to the Paralympic organisation.

The medal - the equivalent of an English freedom of the city honour - has previously been awarded to such figures as Russian president Vladimir Putin and former UN Secretary General, Butros-Butros Ghali.

He said: 'I'm proud to have been awarded the medal and it makes me feel good. But it wasn't just for me, it was for all the other people who helped make the Games a big success.'

Nearly 4,000 elite disabled athletes from 140 countries competed in 19 sports to make Athens the biggest Paralympic Games ever.

Britain won 94 medals - including 35 golds - during the competition to finish second in the overall medal table behind China.

Mr Craven, 54, is one of the most powerful figures in sport as an International Olympic Committee member. Bolton-born, he has lived in South Cheshire for 18 years.

He said: 'When I think back as to the reason I got the medal, it must have been because the Games were in Athens and what they did for the city. I always said they would do that, although there was quite a lot of criticism in the local papers in Athens about the preparations. When I stood for president of the IPC in 2001, some people warned me against it bearing in mind the first games would be in Athens. But I said we weren't going to change things unless we got on and did it. Working together with other organisations helped us show what Paralympic sport is all about.

'Then when you think about the other people who have been awarded the medal, it's very special.'

Mr Craven has been confined to a wheelchair since a rock-climbing fall at the age of 16. He enjoyed a glittering career in wheelchair basketball and was awarded an MBE for his services to the sport.

He added: 'It's hard to compare the two awards. When I went to Buckingham Palace to receive my MBE, the friendliness of the organisation and the whole process made me proud to be British.

'This was also a lovely ceremony which should have had music in it, but there was a tragedy on the morning I was due to be presented with the medal, with a bus crash in which seven children died.

'I thought they might cancel it but it went ahead without quite the pomp and ceremony, which put a bit of a damper on it but quite rightly.'