ABOUT THE PYEONGCHANG 2018 PARALYMPICS

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

The 10-day event witnessed a record 567 athletes from 49 delegations – more than any previous edition - compete in 80 medal events across six sports

mpeting delegations, 26 have won a medal, beating the record set at the Lillehammer 1994 Paralympic Winter Games. A record 20 countries have won gold, beating the previous best of 17 set at the Nagano 1998 and Salt Lake City 2002 Paralympic Winter Games.

Four countries - China, Croatia, Kazakhstan and hosts South Korea – all won their first Winter Games gold medals.

Alpine skiing and snowboard events took place at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre whilst the Alpensia Biathlon Centre staged biathlon and cross-country events.

The Coastal Cluster hosted the ice events. Para ice hockey took place at the Gangneung Hockey Centre and the Gangneung Curling Centre staged wheelchair curling.

As part of hosting the Games, the PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee has launched “Actualising the Dream,” a project aimed at promoting Paralympic winter sports, raising awareness of Para sport and its athletes, and securing the social inclusion of people with an impairment.

The official mascot of the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games is “Bandabi” an Asiatic black bear, founded on South Korea’s mythology and closely associated with Korean culture and folklore.

The bear is symbolic of strong will and courage. The Asiatic Black Bear is also the symbol animal of Gangwon Province. In the name “Bandabi,” “banda” comes from “bandal” meaning “half-moon”, indicating the white crescent on the chest of the Asiatic Black Bear, and “bi” has the meaning of celebrating the Games.

PyeongChang 2018 was elected as host city following one round of voting at the 123rd IOC Session in Durban, South Africa.

Three cities bid for the Games:

PyeongChang, South Korea - 63 votes

Munich, Germany - 25 votes

Annecy, France - 7 votes