HISTORY OF PARA NORDIC SKIING

Para Nordic skiing is the collective name for two different Para sport disciplines: Para biathlon and Para cross-country skiing. 

BIATHLON

Biathlon was introduced in Innsbruck in 1988 for athletes with a physical impairment, and in 1992, athletes with a vision impairment also became eligible to compete.

The events consist of a 2.0 or 2.5 km course skied three or five times in the free technique for a total race distance between 6-15 km.

Between the two stages athletes must hit two targets located at a distance of 10m. Each miss is penalised by an increase in the overall route time.

The most important success factor lies in the capability of alternating the skills of physical endurance and shooting accuracy during the competition.

Athletes with vision impairment are assisted by acoustic signals, which depending on signal intensity, indicate when the athlete is on target.

Para biathlon is managed by the International Biathlon Union (IBU) in cooperation with the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) through a joint Steering Committee.

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING

Cross-country skiing first appeared at the 1976 Winter Paralympic Games in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The competition is open to athletes with a physical impairment and blindness/vision impairment.

Men and women used the classical technique in all cross-country distances until skating was introduced by athletes at the Innsbruck 1984 Paralympic Winter Games.

Since then, events have been split into two separate races: classical and free technique. The new technique, however, was not officially used in a medal race until 1992 in Albertville, France.

Depending on functional impairment, a competitor may use a sit-ski, a chair equipped with a pair of skis.

Athletes with vision impairment compete in the event with a sighted guide.

Male and female athletes compete in sprint, short distance, middle distance and long distance (ranging from 1km to 30km) or participate in a team relay using classical or free techniques.

Para cross-country skiing is governed by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS). 

EQUIPMENT

RIFLE
The rifle shall be any type of air or CO2 rifle of conventional appearance with a five shot clip and in accordance with specifications of the International Union of Shooting's (U.I.T) rule.

For Blind class the rifle will be equipped with electro-acoustic glasses (optronic system). Blind athletes are shooting with an electronic rifle that allows aiming by hearing.

The closer the rifle points to the centre of the target the higher the tone is. The different tones that occur when the rifle is moved, allows the shooter to find the exact centre of the target

TARGET
Biathlon uses metal drop-down targets of which consist of a white target face plate with five target apertures, behind which are five independently operating knock down, falling plate scoring targets. The scoring plates must be black.

A hit must be indicated by the black target circle being replaced by a white indicator disc. The target size has a diameter of 21mm for vision impaired athletes (class B) and 13mm for athletes with a physical disability (class LW).

SIT-SKI
Some athletes with a physical impairment compete from a sitting position using a sit-ski. The chair includes seat belts and other strapping.

SKI
Made from fibreglass, classical skis are usually 25cm to 30cm taller than the height of a skier. They are light, weighing less than 0.45kg each; and narrow, with curved tips and a cambered midsection, which is thicker and arched.

Free technique skis are about 10cm to 15 cm shorter for greater manoeuvring. They are also nominally stiffer and have tips that curve less than classical technique skis. The underside of both types of skis has a groove down the centre to keep the ski straight when going downhill.

GROWTH OF BIATHLON AT THE PARALYMPIC WINTER GAMES 

GAMES COUNTRIES MEDAL EVENTS MALE FEMALE TOTAL  TOP 3 COUNTRIES
1988 8 3 36 0 36 1. FIN 2= NOR 3= SWE
1992 12 4 45 0 45 1. FIN 2. GER 3. EUN
1994 20 10 99 27 126 1. GER 2. FRA 3. NOR
1998 19 12 77 31 108 1. GER 2. FRA 3. SUI
2002 17 6 78 26 104 1. GER 2. NOR 3. NED
2006 20 12 58 32 90 1. RUS 2. UKR 3. GER
2010 18 12 61 34 95 1. RUS 2. UKR 3. GER
2014 15 18 58 32 90 1. RUS 2. UKR 3. GER
2018 18 18 65 44 109 1. UKR 2. GER 3. USA
2022 14 18 50 36 86 1. UKR 2. CHN 3. USA

 

GROWTH OF CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING AT THE PARALYMPIC WINTER GAMES

Year Countries Medal Events Male Female Total TOP 3 COUNTRIES
1976 15 25 101 24 125 1. FIN 2. NOR 3. SWE
1980 14 27 117 31 148 1. FIN 2. NOR 3. SWE
1984 18 35 155 39 194 1. FIN 2. AUT 3. NOR
1988 17 38 125 39 164 1. NOR 2. FIN 3. CAN
1992 18 27 120 30 150 1. EUN 2. NOR 3. FIN
1994 25 48 136 41 177 1. NOR 2. GER 3. RUS
1998 24 39 150 63 213 1. RUS 2. NOR 3. FIN
2002 22 32 96 38 134 1. NOR 2. RUS 3. GER
2006 22 20 88 43 131 1. RUS 2. UKR 3. CAN
2010 23 20 93 49 142 1. RUS 2. CAN 3. GER
2014 22 20 94 53 147 1. RUS 2. CAN 3. UKR
2018 31 20 98 59 157 1. USA 2. CAN 3. UKR
2022 25 20 90 51 141 1. CHN 2. CAN 3. UKR


OVERALL BIATHLON PARALYMPIC MEDALS TABLE

RANK COUNTRY GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL
1 Russia 24 27 15 66
2 Germany 23 14 19 56
3 Ukraine 22 28 27 77
4 France 8 5 4 17
Norway 6 4 8 18


OVERALL CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING PARALYMPIC MEDALS TABLE

RANK COUNTRY GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL
1 Norway 78 49 36 163
2 Finland 65 46 53 164
3 Russia 52 53 39 144
4 Germany 28 32 21 81
5 Canada 25 7 14 46

 

Vitaliy Lukyanenko is the most successful male Paralympic biathlete of all time


TOP 5 MALE PARALYMPIC BIATHLON MEDALLISTS

RANK ATHLETE YEARS COMPETING GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL
1 Vitaliy Lukyanenko (UKR) 2006-present 8 2 2 12
2 Wilhelm Brem (GER) 1994-2010 3 1 1 5
3 Benjamin Daviet (FRA) 2018-present 3 1 0 4
4= Frank Heofle (GER) 1992-2002 3 0 1 4
4= Roman Petushkov (RUS) 2010-2014 3 0 1 4


TOP 5 FEMALE PARALYMPIC BIATHLON MEDALLISTS

RANK ATHLETE YEARS COMPETING GOLD  SILVER BRONZE TOTAL
1 Verena Bentele (GER) 1998-2010 5 0 1 6
2 Mikhalina Lysova (RUS) 2010-2018 4 2 2 8
3 Oksana Shyshkova (UKR) 2014-present 3 3 3 9
4 Olena Iurkovska (UKR) 2002-2014 3 2 2 7
5 Alena Kaufman (RUS) 2006-2014 3 1 1 5

 

Ragnhild Myklebust is the most successful female Paralympic cross-country skier of all time


TOP 5 FEMALE PARALYMPIC CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING MEDALLISTS

RANK ATHLETE YEARS COMPETING GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL
1 Ragnhild Myklebust (NOR) 1988-2002 16 0 0 16
2 Verena Bentele (GER) 1998-2010 7 2 1 10
3 Tanja Tervonen (FIN) 1988-1994 6 1 0 7
4 Tanja Kari (FIN) 1998-2002 6 0 1 7
5 Birgitta Sund (SWE) 1976-1980 6 0 0 6


TOP 5 MALE PARALYMPIC CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING MEDALLISTS

RANK ATHLETE YEARS COMPETING GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL
1 Brian McKeever (CAN) 2002-present 16 2 1 19
2 Frank Hoefle (GER) 1998-2006 10 5 2 17
3 Terje Loevaas (NOR) 1980-1994 8 5 0 13
4 Juoko Grip (FIN) 1980-1994 8 5 0 13
5 Pertti Sankilampi (FIN) 1976-1988 7 4 1 12