A NEW year has broken. After all the waiting, all the anticipation, 2012 can now be consigned to history.
No longer are we living in an Olympic year, no longer in a period of the London Games.
After a summer of sport that exceeded all expectation, we can all look back with fond memories.
We can cast our eyes back to reflect on the achievements of our medal-winning Nottinghamshire Olympians and Paralympians.
But as we start 2013, it is time to look forward too.
For this year, and the future, is brighter than ever thanks to what unfolded during the last 12 months.
And that is the case for Richard Whitehead, the man whose story offers inspiration to everyone.
Not just because of his gold, but more for his plotting of future dominance over the coming years in both the 200m and marathon.
On his arm is tattooed 'Cometh the hour, Cometh the man'. And as he blazed from the back of the pack to a world-record winning time in the T42 200m at the Paralympics, he lived up to his ink as the double amputee gave the two-gun salute after crossing the line inside the Olympic Stadium.
Whitehead only made the decision to take up the 200m 18 months before London, after being told he could not compete in the marathon because there was no recognised classification for his disability.
But for a man born with no legs below the knee, nothing was ever going to keep him down.
He went about a training regime that saw him transform his physique from a long-distance champion into a sprint king – more bulk, more power.
And he is now the world record holder for double amputees in the 200m, half-marathon and marathon.
If ever there was an example of where discipline and dedication can get you, Whitehead's story is it.
As we enter a new year full of good intentions, full of resolutions, it will be easy to lapse into our old ways in a few days or weeks.
But anything is possible, as Whitehead keeps proving time and time again and that was recognised in the New Year's Honours list, when he received an MBE for his achievements.
At 36, some may think time is running out for the popular Lowdham Bladerunner. Far from it.
Not only is the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro his big and realistic goal, he also hopes for a switch in eligibility criteria so he can compete in both the 200m and marathon in Brazil.
That will be a huge and unique challenge but for Whitehead, you get the feeling he believes nothing is insurmountable.
The IPC Athletics World Champions in Lyon take place this July and that will be the initial challenge on his mind.
And it was not just Whitehead who enjoyed a golden summer at the Paralympics.
So too did Newark's Sophie Wells, who won team gold in the dressage and two individual silvers.
In the Aquatics Centre, the Hynd brothers from Sutton-in-Ashfield enjoyed success, with teenager Oliver upstaging Sam by winning gold, silver and bronze.
For his efforts, he has also been awarded an MBE, something older sibling Sam unfortunately did not receive when he won gold in the 400m S8 freestyle in Beijing four years earlier.
This time round Sam picked up bronze in the same event, with Oliver winning silver.
But Oliver secured gold in the 200m Individual Medley (SM8), and bronze in the 100m Backstroke (S8).
Both brothers suffer from a form of muscular dystrophy.
And Mansfield swimmer Charlotte Henshaw got among the medals as her dedication paid off as she won silver in the 100m breaststroke (SB6), missing out on gold on the touch, it was so close. But she made up for her fourth-placed finish in China in 2008.
Like every other Paralympian, Henshaw has her own story behind her disability.
Charlotte was born with a congenital condition which meant she had a shortened femur and a missing tibia in both legs. She had both her legs amputated through the knee when she was 15 months old and began to learn to walk with artificial limbs when she was around two years old.
All in all, the Paralympics simply continued to build on the momentum of the Olympics, capturing the imagination of the British public.
Disability sport rocketed itself into prime-time viewing and stadiums were full to the core across London to watch some stunning performances born out of the most gruelling of training schedules and after overcoming some incredible hurdles that life has put before them.
So, 2012 was the year that inspired, when sport brought the nation together.
And at both the Olympics and Paralympics, Nottinghamshire's athletes delivered.
Etienne Stott and Tim Baillie won gold, Richard Hounslow and David Florence winning silver behind them in the C2 canoe slalom at the Lee Valley course.
Newark-born Mary King won equestrian silver, Beijing double-gold medallist Rebecca Adlington two bronzes in the pool, while Sam Oldham helped the men's gymnastics team to a medal of the same colour. There was bronze too for West Bridgford's Helen Richardson with the women's hockey squad.
And it was an amazing year for Ilkeston's David Brailsford, who oversaw Bradley Wiggins' Tour de France victory and then British Cycling's dominance at the Olympic Games.
He was duly awarded a Knighthood in the New Year's Honours List.
But 2013 is a year to build for our Paralympians. Rio is three-and-a-half years away but for our swimmers, there is the disability world swimming championships in Canada later this year.
For Brailsford, he will look to mastermind a defence of the Tour de France for Team Sky.
For Adlington, a decision will soon be made as to whether or not she will retire or go for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
After two gold and two bronze Olympic medals over two Games, it would be no surprise to see her hang up her swimsuit.
She has triumphed at every major championship, the Mansfield ace may rightly feel her job is done.
We can look back on 2012 – not just at the Olympics but other major achievements too – and say Britain, and Notts, delivered on the biggest stage of all.
But it is a new dawn, a new year and Whitehead, among the many others, will look to continue to inspire through 2013 and beyond.
And when it comes to sticking to our own goals and resolutions, we can learn a lot about discipline and dedication from these inspiring athletes.