PyeongChang 2018 Paralympics to be the biggest yet

“Even before the Games begin, one of the lasting legacies of PyeongChang 2018 will be that many new countries are practicing winter sports, including the three countries that will make their Winter Games debut this year.”

The PyeongChang 2018 Paralympics which open on Friday (9 March) will be the biggest Winter Games yet with more athletes and more countries taking part than ever before.

With just 24 hours to go until the Opening Ceremony, a record 567 athletes from 48 countries, plus the Neutral Paralympic Athlete delegation, will compete in the Games. Three National Paralympic Committees – Georgia (2 athletes), North Korea (2 athletes) and Tajikistan (1 athlete) - will take part in a Winter Games for the first time.

Athletes in PyeongChang will compete in 80 medal events across six sports: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, Para ice hockey, snowboard and wheelchair curling.

Andrew Parsons, IPC President, said: “It is fantastic news for the growth of winter Para sports that a record number of athletes and countries will compete at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.

“This increase in participation is testament to the great work of the National Paralympic Committees and the International Federations. Over the last four years, the Agitos Foundation - the IPC’s development arm - has been working closely with the PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee on the Actualising the Dream project introducing and developing winter para sports around the world.

“Even before the Games begin, one of the lasting legacies of PyeongChang 2018 will be that many new countries are practicing winter sports, including the three countries that will make their Winter Games debut this year.”

With 68 athletes, the USA has the biggest delegation at PyeongChang 2018, followed by Canada (52), Japan (38), South Korea (36) and Norway (32).

Four countries – Canada, Korea, Norway and USA – will have representation in all six sports.

Having first been held in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, in 1976, the previous biggest Paralympic Winter Games in terms of athlete numbers were held in Nagano, Japan, in 1998 when 562 athletes took part. Forty-five countries took part in Sochi 2014, the previous highest number before PyeongChang 2018.

The PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games will take place from 9-18 March.

The competing countries are listed below, together with the number of athletes they have entered into competition.

Andorra (1), Argentina (2), Armenia (1), Australia (12), Austria (13), Belgium (2), Bosnia & Herzegovina (1), Belarus (14), Brazil (3), Bulgaria (1), Canada (52), Chile (4), China (26), Croatia (7), Czech Republic (21), Denmark (1), Spain (3), Finland (13), France (12), Great Britain (14), Georgia (2), Germany (20), Greece (1), Hungary (2), Iran (5), Iceland (1), Italy (25), Japan (38), Kazakhstan (6), Korea (36), Mexico (1), Mongolia (1), Netherlands (9), Norway (32), Neutral Paralympic Athlete (30), New Zealand (3), Poland (8), North Korea (2), Romania (1), Slovenia (1), Serbia (1), Switzerland (13), Slovakia (11), Sweden (24), Tajikistan (1), Turkey (1), Ukraine (20), USA (68), Uzbekistan (1).