That's the view of the English Institute of Sport's (EIS) new Head of Sport Science and Sport Medicine for Paralympic Sport Nik Diaper (pictured), who took up his new role earlier this month and insists the level of interest in disability sport is higher than ever before just 18 months out from the London Games.

"We all want to play our part in supporting the development of the Paralympic and Olympic high performance system in the UK, especially at such an exciting time," said Diaper.

"But for Paralympic sport in particular, these are really are exciting times not just in the UK, but worldwide.

"It wasn't that long ago that the appetite for Paralympic sport was minimal and whilst I'm not suggesting we are now at the opposite end of the scale, the level of interest generated in recent years provides a unique platform for us to build a sustainable high performance Paralympic system in the UK."

Diaper will be responsible for overseeing the EIS Paralympic Sport Science and Sport Medicine strategy which between now and the London Paralympic Games will see EIS practitioners delivering over 450 hours of sports science and sports medicine services to Paralympic sports every week.

"Ultimately, my remit is to ensure this service provision to the Paralympic sports who invest in us is delivering a performance impact," he said.

"I will be looking to address this from a number of approaches of which the key one will be working in partnership with the national governing bodies of sports.

"In addition to this, the technical development of our Paralympic disciplines and practitioners is equally important as this is essentially where and how we are able to create a performance impact.

"Considerable Paralympic expertise now exists within the EIS across a number of disciplines, but there is always going to be valuable expertise that is based elsewhere.

"Creating collaborative partnerships with individuals or institutions that can facilitate our efforts to enhance performance will also be key."

"The very fact that the Games are almost upon us presents significant challenges on all fronts, not least because we are under pressure to deliver.

"We have to have the confidence that what we have delivered up until this point has laid the foundations for successful performances in 2012.

"As we get closer the opportunities to introduce significant interventions for London are reducing all the time but there are still areas that can be addressed whilst we must also plan for the development of our Paralympic Sport Science and Medicine services after 2012."

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