"Laura" makes an impressive debut

The "Laura" Biathlon and Cross-country centre in Sochi, Russia which last week hosted the IPC Nordic Skiing World Cup Finals has received some excellent feedback from officials and athletes.

The venue which will host next year's Nordic events at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games was tested by over 140 athletes from 16 countries in the Finals which also acted as a test event for the organising committee.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, the President and CEO of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, said:"Paralympic sport has its own specific requirements. This means enhanced accessibility, service and professionalism of volunteers. We are paying particular attention to how we are preparing for Paralympic competitions. Our objective at the test events is to expose and take into consideration the nuances that may affect the performance of athletes so that all necessary conditions are created for them to achieve top results at the Games."

Pavel Rozhkov, First Vice-President of the Russian Paralympic Committee and Chef de Mission of the Russian national team at the Paralympic Games in Sochi said: "The Russian Paralympic Committee is very pleased with how the event went. The tracks were well prepared and everything was well organised and the athletes performed well. This bodes very well for the Paralympic Games in 2014."

Len Apedaile, IPC Nordic Skiing technical delegate said: "It has been a great week here in Sochi. We had a difficult start with the weather, but all the competitions went very smoothly and it's been a very good test for us ahead of the Games.

The venues are great and it's a beautiful location, with incredible views and the stadium and tracks are fantastic. Overall we're very happy!”

The Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games will take place between 7-16 March and are set to feature 700 athletes from 45 countries. They will compete in five sports – alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, ice sledge hockey and wheelchair curling. Para- snowboard will make its Games debut as part of the alpine skiing programme.