PARALYMPIC AND PARA SPORTS NEWS

Azerbaijan organises flashmob with wheelchair dancers
Passers-by in Baku, Azerbaijan, were surprised to see wheelchair dancers participating in a flashmob organised by the National Paralympic Committee.

Victory for Vio at Wheelchair Fencing Grand Prix
Italian Beatrice Vio continues her rapid rise in the sport by taking the category B foil title in Lonato.

Entries open for New Zealand alpine slalom World Cup
August competition to be part of Winter Games New Zealand.

Dubai to host 2014 IPC Powerlifting Worlds
The 2014 IPC Powerlifting World Championships are expected to draw nearly 250 to 300 athletes from 50 countries.

Snowboard cross competition is fiercer than ever
Carl Murphy speaks about raised standards of riding ahead of Sochi 2014.
Agitos Foundation Athletics Course begins in Kenya
The first IPC Athletics Technical Course in Kenya aims to train coaches, officials and classifiers to develop the sport to elite level across East Africa.

Cockroft steals another world record in Switzerland
Hurricane Hannah knocks 0.06 seconds off own time.

Montreal: a stepping stone for Sophie Pascoe
New Zealander talks of her preparation for Montreal 2013 and looking towards Rio.

Al-Ajeeli, Huseynov lift equivalent of adult zebra
Iraq’s Faris Al-Ajeeli and Azerbaijan’s Elshan Huseynov recorded the heaviest lifts in Aleksin to close out the IPC Powerlifting Open European Championships.

Great Britain to face Paralympic champions in Euros warm up
British men's wheelchair basketball team to face Canada, Spain and Germany in mid-June

Chile make 18-hour trip to Aleksin
Juan Carlos Garrido wants to get Chile’s powerlifting squad on the right track this year in order to eventually qualify for Rio 2016.

Ghazouani betters London 2012 performance
French Paralympic champion Souhad Ghazouani lifted four kilograms more at the IPC Powerlifting Euros than at the Paralympics.

USA wins eighth quad title
USA win title at BNP Paribas World Team Cup in Turkey

Table tennis champions head to Bayreuth Open
Top names such as Jochen Wollmert, David Wetherill and Kelly van Zon will be among the 300 competing in Germany this week.

New coach opens up about Brazil-Argentina rivalry
Brazil’s football 5-a-side goalkeeper from London 2012 Fabio Luiz Ribeiro de Vasconcelos is the team’s new coach for 2013.

Brazilians to develop winter sports ahead of Sochi 2014
Brazil are working to form further opportunities for athletes with an impairment in their country, including opportunities for them to participate in winter sports.

Russians break three more world records in Aleksin
Host nation Russia set three new world records on the third day of the IPC Powerlifting Open European Championships.

Italy’s Barbierato: ‘Best birthday in my life’
Italian powerlifter Martina Barbierato became a star in a day, winning two bronze medals and a gold in Aleksin, Russia.

Dias breaks world record in Berlin
Brazilian smashes his own time by nearly three seconds.