In the only Paralympic event of the evening 24-year-old Hug, who beat Weir twice at the 2010 BT Paralympic World Cup in Manchester earlier this year to claim two gold medals in the men’s 800 and 1500m wheelchair respectively, continued his impressive victory streak over the British star by inching him out in a sprint finish for the line.

The two exchanged the lead throughout the race but it was Hug who was ahead when it mattered as he finished in 3min 14.68sec with Weir just behind in 3:15.09, a result that disappointed the large home crowd that was roaring the Briton on.

Before the race, Weir had singled out Hug as his biggest threat, and his instincts proved correct .

Hug is fast underlining his status as one of biggest prospects for a gold medal at the London 2012 Paralympics.

Australia’s Richard Coleman was third with a time of 3:20.64 while Canada’s Josh Cassidy, the 2010 London Marathon wheelchair race winner, was surprisingly off the pace as he finished in fourth with a time of 3:24.69.

Although there were no over Paralympic events scheduled, four-time Paralympic gold medallist Oscar Pistorius was in action in the men’s 400m-B race which is actually an able-bodied event.

The Blade Runner finished in seventh place with a time of 46.63 putting him ahead of Britain’s Graham Headman.

However, the time was well short of the personal best of 46.03 which the South African set at a meeting in Lignano in Italy last month, a time which would have seen him win the race.

Britain’s Conrad Williams was the actual race winner finishing in a time of 46.09 with his compatriots Robert Tobin and Richard Buck in second and third place respectively.

Tomorrow’s Paralympic action at Crystal Palace sees Pistorius line up again in the 400m T44 event where he will renew his rivalry with Britain’s Ian Jones.

Saturday will also see the women’s 100m T12/T44 race featuring the highly talented British trio of Stephanie Reid, Libby Clegg and Suzan Verduijn.

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