100 things to know about the Paralympic Winter Games (26-50)

Countdown to Beijing 2022 with 100 days to go, from the origins of the Winter Paralympics to the most successful winter Para sports country! 21 Nov 2021

two Para ice hockey players clash on the ice

Czech Republic v USA

ⒸGetty Images

By Lucy Dominy | For the IPC

26. The theme of the Opening Ceremony for Nagano 1998 was “Hope,” because they marked the first Winter Paralympics held in Asia, as well as the last Paralympics of the 20th century.

27. Early pioneers of winter Para sports include double-leg amputee Sepp Zwicknagl from Austria, who experimented with skiing using prostheses.

28. Sit-skiing – featuring some of the most daring athletes – was added in Innsbruck in 1988.

Athlete in a sporting event Alpine Skiing, Lillehammer 1994

Sit skier competing at Lillehammer 1994 Ⓒ Lillehammer 1994

29. Para ice hockey at Beijing 2022 will see eight countries take to the ice.

South Korea seen to return to the Paralympic podium Ⓒ Getty Images

30. King Carl Gustaf of Sweden was the patron of the first winter Paralympics at Örnsköldsvik 1976, sparking a relationship between the country’s royal family and the Paralympic movement that endures to this day.

31. Para Nordic skiing includes cross-country skiing and biathlon as two disciplines.

A female sit-skier in a Para cross-country competition

32. The USA have won exactly half of all Paralympic golds so far awarded in Para snowboard – six.

33. The Beijing 2022 mascot, Shuey Rhon Rhon, is a Chinese lantern child which represents harvest, celebration, warmth, and light.

Beijing 2022 Olympics and Paralympic Winter Games mascots Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon unveiled.

34. While many consider USA’s Tatyana McFadden as one of the best wheelchair racers of all time, few know the American also stood out on the snow. She competed at Sochi 2014, winning silver in cross-country skiing.

35. A direct descendant of ice hockey, Para ice hockey was invented at a rehabilitation centre in Stockholm, Sweden, during the early 1960's by a group of Swedes with physical impairment who wanted to continue playing the sport.

Para ice hockey action at Nagano 1998

36. Para snowboarders compete in two different events at the Paralympics – snowboard-cross, which is a head-to-head race, and banked slalom, a race around flags.

37. Since the first Winter Paralympics, a total of 486 gold medals have been awarded in Para alpine skiing. The USA have won the most with 91, followed by Austria with 90.

Austrian Paralympic champion Ⓒ Sakhalin 2020

38. In biathlon, athletes with vision impairments are assisted by acoustic signals when shooting, which depending on signal intensity, indicate when the athlete is on target.

A male guide and a female athlete competing in Para biathlon

Ukraine's and guide Vitaliy Kazakov Ⓒ Thomas Lovelock for OIS/IOC

39. Norway top the cross-country skiing medal standings at the Paralympic Winter Games with 78 golds, 48 silvers and 35 bronze.

female Para Nordic skier Vilde Nilsen holds up a Norwegian flag

40. Para ice hockey is a mixed sport. At PyeongChang 2018, Lena Schrøder from Norway became the second female player at the Games after compatriot Britt Mjaasund Øyen in 1994.

A female Para ice hockey player practising with her teammates on a rink

41. In Para Nordic skiing, athletes are divided into three categories depending on their type of impairment: sitting, standing and vision impaired.

42. As one might expect, Canada won the first three Paralympic wheelchair curling titles at Torino 2006, Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014.

43. At Salt Lake City 2002, the number of tickets on sale had to be augmented due to high demand. The total number made available was raised from 225,000 to 248,000.

44. Para alpine skiing features six disciplines: downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super-G and super combined.

Alpine Athlete in a decrease Vancouver 2010

45. A total of 35 countries have won medals at Paralympic Winter Games throughout history.

a team of wheelchair curlers hold up the Chinese flag with their medals

46. Canada’s is the most decorated male cross-country skier. McKeever, a skier with a vision impairment, has an impressive 13 golds, two silvers and one bronze in total.

EYEING ONE LAST HURRAH: Brian McKeever is the most decorated cross-country skier in Paralympic history.

47. The Beijing 2022 medals reflect the culture and spirit of the host country, but also encapsulates the innovative ideas and inspiring creativity of the artists.

The centre of the front of the medals is engraved with the logo of the IPC, and surrounded by the words 'Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games' in English in engraved letters and Braille beads.

The emblem of the Winter Games is engraved in the centre on the back of the medals, and the full Chinese name for it is engraved around it.

48. Wheelchair curlers deliver the stone using a stick that hooks onto the handle of the stone.

a female wheelchair curler from Latvia plays a stone while another curler holds her wheelchair to steady it

49. Bibian Mentel-Spee, who sadly passed away in 2021, is widely recognised as being one of the pioneers of Para snowboard, and is the most decorated female athlete in the sport with three golds.

50. At Beijing 2022, alpine skiing will be held at the National Alpine Ski Centre, cross-country skiing and biathlon at the National Biathlon Centre and Para snowboard at the Genting Snow Park.

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