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Broadcasting records and capacity crowds for swimming and track and field, spurred by athletes including Oscar Pistorius, helped Beijing host the most successful Paralympics, organizers said on the final day.

The 17-day event that ends today was broadcast for more than 1,000 hours -- a 60 percent increase from Athens four years ago -- in at least 75 countries, according to the International Paralympic Committee. The Games may have reached 1 billion television viewers in China alone and as many as 2.7 million watched the opening ceremony in the U.K., it said.

``These have been great games,'' Paralympic committee President Philip Craven told reporters in Beijing today. ``It's been so, so positive.''

More than 180 world records were set in swimming and athletics, including one by South African double amputee Pistorius, who took his third gold in Beijing in the 400 meters yesterday. He had failed to qualify for last month's Olympics after a court ruling gave him the right to compete.

Having high-profile athletes like Pistorius, nicknamed ``Blade Runner'' because of his carbon-fiber prosthetic legs, will help improve the lot of disabled sports, U.S. sprinter Brian Frasure said.

``It's all about seeing the movement growth, we got to have more such athletes,'' Frasure said. ``That's what going to attract more audience and more sponsorships.''

Pistorius, 21, said the increased interest this year may result in greater financial backing for competitors, leading to better performances at the event that began shadowing the Olympics in Rome in 1960.

`Definitely Needed'

``As more and more sponsors get involved with Paralympics sports, it'll definitely allow athletes to raise the bar and that's definitely needed,'' Pistorius said.

Fans at the Bird's Nest stadium pushed blind runner Zhang Zhen to win a rare gold medal for China in distance running. That was one of the host's table-topping 89 golds. Its 211 total medals was more than double the haul at last month's Olympics.

``Increased funding with more professional training and coaching greatly developed disabled sportsmen like us,'' Zhang told reporters after winning the 5,000 meters. ``Being in the right location amid the right atmosphere spurred me to win.''

Human Rights Watch had said on the eve of the Paralympics that people with disabilities in China continue to suffer discrimination and organizations for the disabled face government ``pressure and harassment.''

Legacy

Paralympics organizers said the games had created a ``huge and far-reaching'' legacy in China and increased awareness of issues surrounding disability.

``People are beginning to respect more people with disability because they are challenging their own limits,'' Wang Wei, vice president of the Beijing Olympic Games organizing committee, told reporters.

Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London 2012 Games, said he didn't feel ``cowed'' by China's success at hosting the Olympics and Paralympics over the past month and a half.

``It is a massive responsibility but we don't find it daunting,'' Coe told reporters in Beijing. ``I want to emulate it and even do better.''

(Source: Bloomberg)