By Tom Degun in Manchester

May 28 - The BT Paralympic World Cup provided the perfect opportunity to look at athletes, including Stephen Miller (pictured), hoping to compete in the IPC World Championships in Christchurch next year, UK Athletics head coach Peter Eriksson has claimed.



Britain claimed four gold medals as athletics opened the event with Beijing Paralympians Libby Clegg winning the 100 metres in the T11/12 category, Miller the club in F32/51, Dan Greaves the discus in the F42/44 discus and Tracy Hinton the 200m in T11/12 200m.

There were also some encouraging performances from the likes of Ian Jones, who narrowly lost out to Oscar Pistorius in the T44 100m and 400m, as well as Shelly Woods, who picked up two bronze medals in the T53/54 800 and 1500m.

Eriksson said that he is using the prestigious event to look at where his athletes are in terms of performance ahead the bigger events on the horizon over the next two years, including London 2012.

Eriksson told insideworldparasport: "The BT Paralympic World Cup is the first major event of the season and it gives a great indication of what condition the athletes are in.

"It is a very high standard of competition with the likes of Oscar Pistorius here and the organisers have done a great job of getting everything together.

"Right now, we are looking at selection for the 2011 IPC World Championships in New Zealand and while this event is not a determining factor in who we will chose to compete at the event, it is extremely helpful in letting us look at all of the athletes and how well they compete on a big stage in front of a big crowd.

"With regard to the London 2012 Paralympics, there is a lot of long-term planning involved so even though we are a long way away from the Games at the moment, this is a great stage to have a look at the athletes and how well they react to the home crowd."

Eriksson also gave his backing to double Beijing 2008 Paralympic champion David Weir who disappointed at this years event.

An out-of-sorts Weir, who was at the doctors just hours before his races, finished second in the T53/54 800m and fifth in the 1500m but Eriksson has back Weir to bounce back quickly.

He said: "David is a great competitor and when he is at his best, he is always a safe bet to do well."

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