Torino 2006

The Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games saw 474 Para athletes (375 men and 99 women) from 38 countries contest 58 medal events across five sports. Russia topped the medals table, and 165,974 spectators attended the Games. Two delegations took part in a Paralympic Winter Games for the first time and wheelchair curling made its Paralympic debut.

The Torino 2006 Games were also the first Paralympics to use the new Paralympics Agitos logo.

COMPETING NATIONS AND ATHLETES

The Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games saw 474 Para athletes (375 men and 99 women) from 38 countries contest 58 medal events across five sports.

USA had the biggest delegation with 55 Para athletes, followed by Japan (40) and Italy (39).

Two nations made their Paralympic Winter Games debut – Mexico and Mongolia.

SPORTS

The Games featured 58 medal events in five sports. Wheelchair curling made its Games debut attracting large crowds.

Para alpine skiing featured 190 athletes from 30 countries competing across 24 medal events while Para biathlon included 12 events and 90 competing athletes from 20 countries. Para cross-country skiing and Para ice hockey each had eight nations competing in one medal event per sport.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES

Ukraine's Olena Iurkovska finished the Games as the most decorated athlete. The sit-skier won four gold medals, as well as a silver and bronze across Para biathlon and Para cross-country skiing.

In Para cross-country skiing, vision impaired athlete Lioubov Vasilieva won three gold medals and a bronze.

German Para alpine sit-skier Martin Braxenthaler won gold in giant slalom, slalom and Super-G. With two golds, a silver and a bronze, Braxenthaler's compatriot Gerd Schoenfelder became the most decorated male Paralympian in Para alpine skiing.

Results

Russia topped the medals table for the first time in their history while 19 of the 38 competing countries won at least one medal. Twelve countries won at least one gold medal.

Germany's edged France to finish atop the Para alpine skiing medals table and Russia led the way in Para biathlon and Para cross-country skiing.

On the ice, Canada won double gold. The nation was victorious in Para ice hockey defeating Norway in the title decider, and won the inaugural Paralympic title in wheelchair curling beating Great Britain in the final.

Country

Gold

Silver

Bronze

RUS

GER

UKR

FRA

USA

Paralympic Torch Relay

The torch was carried by 126 different people, all the way from Verbania to Torino, and it reached an altitude of 3,080 metres on Monte Rosa.

OPENING CEREMONY

Held on 10 March, the Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony involved an audience of about 25,000 and was broadcast live to millions of viewers around the globe. The theme of the Ceremony was overcoming limitations and was a celebration of those who choose not to surrender.

©Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images

CLOSING CEREMONY

The Closing Ceremony, held on 19 March, took place in Piazza Castello, and the theme of the event was springtime – the transition from the dark and cold of winter to a time of warmth and excitement. It was a metaphor for the change experienced by the city of Torino as a result of hosting both the Olympics and Paralympics. Three hundred artists were involved in the Ceremony, most of them from Torino-based companies.

©Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

ATTENDANCE AND COVERAGE

A total of 169,974 tickets were sold for Games events. The finals of the Para ice hockey and wheelchair curling competitions, as well as the Opening Ceremony, were sold out.

A record 1,037 broadcast media representatives arrived in Torino to cover the Games, and the host broadcaster, International Sports Broadcasting (ISB), provided more than 130 hours of live coverage.

The IPC launched its online TV channel, ParalympicSport.TV, at the Games. Nearly 40,000 unique viewers tuned into the channel from 105 nations. Most viewers hailed from Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and USA, and the channel drew a five per cent increase in new viewers each day of the Games.

LEGACY

The Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games saw 474 Para athletes from 38 countries contest 58 medal events across five sports. Russia topped the medals table, and 165,974 spectators attended the Games. The Torino 2006 Games were also the first Paralympics to use the new Paralympics Agitos logo.

Medals

The Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games medals feature colourful designs in a range of shades on the face of the medal. The medal, weighing 251 grams, and measuring 7.5 cm in diameter and 0.6 cm in height, is the first of its kind from a Winter Games to feature the modern Agitos logo.

The face of the medal has an image representing the respective sport for which it was awarded. Each are inscribed with IX Paralympic Winter Games in both Italian and English.

Mascot

The Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games mascot is Aster, an enthusiastic and friendly snowflake that welcomed athletes and spectators to the Games. Aster was named after the Latin word for “star”.

Snowflakes are especially unique because no two snowflake share the same pattern. Aster represents the uniqueness of each Para athlete, the uniqueness of their sport, and the uniqueness of their lifestyle.

The mascot was designed by Pedro Albuquerque, a Portuguese artist who won a design competition.

Torch

The Torch for the Torino 2006 Games is blue, with a sleek asymmetrical design.

The torch itself has many design references, from the tip of a ski to the famous building that represents Turin, the Mole Antonelliana, and even a wooden torch. Specifically, the aluminium torch was crafted to mimic a wooden torch and give the impression that it was engulfed in flame rather than burning through a single point.

The torch was created by Italian designer Paolo Pininfarina and even won the Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art’s most prestigious award.