Paralympian Tim Prendergast believes Paris 2024 has the chance to inject a new wave of support into the para-sport movement. 

The New Zealand-native competed at four Paralympic Games for his country, winning one gold and two silvers on the athletics track.

Having concluded his Paralympic career at London 2012, Prendergast experienced first-hand the incredible heights that para sport reached in Great Britain during the home Games, with the likes of Hannah Cockroft, Jonnie Peacock and Ellie Simmonds all becoming household names.

Prendergast now hopes that Paris 2024 will once again ignite the flame and continue the ever-increasing rise of support for para sport across the world.

"I’m so excited for Paris 2024 and in particular to see the Paralympic movement evolving even more than it has done in the last 20 years," he said.

"I really hope Paris can bring para sport back into the light again.

"With Tokyo having the impact of Covid and the time difference it was hard, but I hope we can generate that momentum again as para sport offers so much more than just sport."

Britain has been Prendergast's home for the past 17-years, and the former athlete plays a vital role in developing sport across the country by working as an athlete mentor for the Youth Sport Trust.

But the proud Kiwi still has a strong presence on the other side of the world and currently sits on the Paralympic New Zealand selection panel ahead of Paris 2024.

It's a role he's come to enjoy, now able to help implement the change he wants to see for future generations.

"I’m part of the Paralympic New Zealand selection panel this year so I’m involved on the other side of things," he said.

"It’s really interesting knowing the responsibility and work that athletes put in day in and day out but being on the other side of the coin, in the governance side of sport, is something that I’m really interested in developing in both New Zealand and Great Britain going forward.

"You can already see that Paralympic ethos in Britain in programmes such as National School Sports Week, which is great, but there's more to be done."

Through his role as an athlete mentor, Prendergast recently attended the launch of National School Sports Week at Swiss Cottage School in London.

National School Sports Week is a weeklong annual campaign run by the Youth Sport Trust which aims to champion the role of PE, physical activity, and school sport in allowing all pupils to reach their full potential.

This year, the event, powered by Sports Direct’s Monster Kickabout is themed around ‘putting all into football,’ through 60 minutes a day of PE, sport, and play, with the intention of driving up awareness of the Chief Medical Officer’s’ recommendation that children should be active for a minimum of 60 minutes a day to stay happy and healthy.

Youth Sport Trust CEO Ali Oliver was there to kick off the week alongside Prendergast and noted the importance of the campaign in getting young people active off the back of some harrowing statistics.

"We know that less than half of children nationally get their active minutes everyay and that really isn’t good enough," she said.

"Those active minutes are vital for a child’s growth and development and it’s a really worry for us.

"The Youth Sport Trust hope to support schools and education set ups in creating active learning environments to make children happier and healthier.

"Whether that’s active travel or active playgrounds, physical activity is no longer just for children with high level of ability, it’s for everybody."

National School Sports Week is an annual campaign, launched originally in 2008 and run by national children’s charity the Youth Sport Trust, to champion the role of PE, physical activity, and school sport in allowing all pupils to reach their full potential.