The event, which takes place at the impressive 20,000-seat Queen Elizabeth II Park Stadium from January 21-30, will feature nearly 1,100 athletes from 80 countries.

The competition represents the last major gathering of international athletes before the London 2012 Paralympic Games and Pickering, who is also chair of the organising committee, is confident it will allow New Zealanders to view Paralympic competition in the same bracket as the Olympics.

In an exclusive blog for insideworldparasport, Pickering said: "There are still some people in this country who do not consider Paralympic sport is at the same level as Olympic sport.

"I encourage all these people to attend the event and see for themselves the level at which all these high performance athletes compete.

"By hosting the IPC Athletics World Championships, this as an opportunity to shift the attitudes and perceptions towards disabled people."

Pickering added that she hopes to see the people of Christchurch out in force supporting all the athletes, but particularly the New Zealand team.

"In addition to the big international names, there are nine Kiwis to look out for," she said.

"We are expecting some great performances from New Zealand athletes and we hope that the public will really get behind these athletes."

To read the blog click here.


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