Four athletes have been chosen in athletics and three more will be added, with the final number of competitors to be 35 across 10 sports.

As well as athletics, those sports are archery, judo, goalball, equestrian, cycling, sailing, swimming, shooting and javelin/shot put.

Only Leo-Pekka Tähti (pictured top), a wheelchair racer, will compete in London as a reigning champion, having claimed gold in the 100 metres T54 sprint in Beijing four years ago.

He also won bronze in the 200m in 2008 and had won gold in both disciplines in Athens in 2004.

Of the other competitors, the only medallists from Beijing aside from Tähti are Jarmo Ollanketo (pictured below) and Jani Kallunki.


Ollanketo won a silver medal in the road cycling, with Kallunki taking bronze in the judo.

Yet despite so few Paralympic medallists among their rank, Finland's Paralympic Committee are aiming to bring seven medals home from London.

"Finland will be sending a competitive team for London 2012," Chef de Mission Kimmo Mustonen insisted.

"We'll have realistic expectations for medals in eight disciplines.

"When comparing the team to the one in Beijing [30 athletes], we'll have more athletes, the average age has decreased and we'll have more female athletes on the team.

"Those are all very positive things when thinking of the development of Paralympic sport at the elite level."

Among those in with a chance of glory will be the women's goalball squad, who recently won the Malmo Lady Intercup with an impressive victory over Beijing 2008 gold medallists the United States.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]