Gallery: ‘Spirit in Motion’ gala opens London’s Paralympics

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Wednesday’s ceremony concluded with a bevy of fireworks and Miranda breaking a glass ceiling — just as Paralympians must smash through their own barriers. Margaret Maughan, who won Britain’s first gold medal at the 1960 Rome Paralympics in archery, then lit the cauldron.

Society, too, was encouraged to abandon old-fashioned perceptions of what disabled people can and cannot do.

Pistorius, at an earlier news conference, praised London for its inclusivity.

"Kids didn’t stare at people’s prosthetic legs and they were asking guys in wheelchairs what events they do," Pistorius said. "There are a lot of people here who don’t focus on the disability anymore — they focus on the athletes’ abilities ... there’s nothing to be ashamed of."

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