DANNY Crates claimed capturing the 800m Paralympic title was a dream come true after speeding to a memorable victory in Athens on Saturday.

The 31-year-old, from Corringham, raced away from his rivals with a devastating sprint finish to strike gold in a time of 1.57.90 minutes.

"This means everything to me," said Crates.

"I've worked so hard for more than the last four years to achieve this and it's a dream come true.

"I've waited so long and the pressure was massive but it feels so special and I can't stop smiling."

But Crates, who won bronze in the 400m in Sydney four years ago, admitted the race had not gone according to plan -- beginning with a bizarre build up before entering the stadium.

And Crates - who lost his right arm in a car crash eight years ago -- added even his coach was concerned with the unexpected change in tactics.

"It's suicide to go to the front in 800m and my coach had told me to avoid doing it at all costs," he said.

"Apparently he was in the crowd screaming 'no', but it was quite a slow opening lap and coming from a 400m background like I do, I find the slower paced races a lot harder."

Despite that however, Crates defeated Algerian Samir Nouioua and Jean de Dieu Nkundabera of Rwanda to finish on top of the podium -- much to the delight of his vociferous supporters.