Neutral Paralympic Athletes at the 2018 Winter Paralympics facts for kids

Russia sent some amazing athletes to compete in the 2018 Winter Paralympics! These big games happened in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Because of some past issues with doping (which is when athletes use banned substances to get an unfair advantage), the Russian athletes couldn't compete under their country's flag. Instead, they competed as "Neutral Paralympic Athletes" (NPA). This meant only athletes who had a clean record were allowed to join.

On February 26, 2018, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced the list of 30 Russian athletes who could compete. They took part in five different sports, including para-alpine skiing, para-Nordic skiing, para-snowboarding, and wheelchair curling.

These athletes quickly showed their skills! Ekaterina Rumyantseva won a gold medal, and Anna Milenina won a silver medal in the women's 6 km biathlon standing race. Mikhalina Lysova also won a gold medal in the women's 6 km biathlon visually impaired race. These exciting wins happened on March 10, the very first day of the para-Nordic skiing events!

The Team

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) chose 30 Russian athletes to compete as Neutral Paralympic Athletes (NPA) at the 2018 Winter Paralympics. These athletes competed in four main sports:

• Para-alpine skiing: 10 athletes
• Para-Nordic skiing: 12 athletes
• Para-snowboarding: 3 athletes
• Wheelchair curling: 5 athletes

The team also included 6 guide skiers, who help visually impaired athletes compete. Plus, there were 39 support staff and officials to help the athletes. Even with the rules about who could compete, the Russian NPA team was one of the biggest groups at the Games!

Alexy Bugaev at a ski competition in 2013.

Mikhalina Lysova.

Anna Burmistrova at the 2010 Winter Paralympics

Here's a quick look at the number of athletes in each sport:

Medals Won

The Neutral Paralympic Athletes from Russia won some impressive medals!

Medal Athlete's Name Sport Event Date 1 Gold Rumyantseva, EkaterinaEkaterina Rumyantseva Biathlon Women's 6 km, standing 10 March 1 Gold Lysova, MikhalinaMikhalina Lysova Guide: Alexey Ivanov Biathlon Women's 6 km, visually impaired 10 March 2 Silver Milenina, AnnaAnna Milenina Biathlon Women's 6 km, standing 10 March

Medals by Sport Sport Total Biathlon 2 1 0 3 Total 2 1 0 3 Medals by Date Day Date Total Day 1 10 March 2 1 0 3 Day 2 11 March 0 0 0 0 Day 3 12 March 0 0 0 0 Day 4 13 March 0 0 0 0 Day 5 14 March 0 0 0 0 Day 6 15 March 0 0 0 0 Day 7 16 March 0 0 0 0 Day 8 17 March 0 0 0 0 Day 9 18 March 0 0 0 0 Total 2 1 0 3

Alpine Skiing

Alpine skiing is a sport where athletes ski down hills, often around gates.

Alpine Skiing Schedule

The alpine skiing events were spread out over several days:

• Downhill: Started on March 10.
• Super-G: Took place on March 11.
• Super Combined: Happened on March 13, with Super-G in the morning and slalom in the afternoon.
• Slalom: Ran from March 14 to March 15. Both men and women raced in the morning, with women doing their second run first in the afternoon.
• Giant Slalom: The last alpine skiing race, held on March 17-18. Men and women raced at the same time in the mornings.

Alpine Skiing Results

Here are some of the results for the Russian NPA athletes in alpine skiing:

Nordic Skiing

Nordic skiing includes sports like biathlon (skiing and shooting) and cross-country skiing (skiing across varied terrain).

Nordic Skiing Schedule

Here's when some of the Nordic skiing events took place:

• 15 km Race: On March 12, standing and visually impaired women started at 10:00 PM.
• Sprint Classic: Qualification rounds were on March 14, followed by semifinals and finals in the afternoon.
• Classic Race: On March 17, standing and visually impaired women raced from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM.

Nordic Skiing Results

Biathlon Results

In the women's 6 km biathlon standing race, Ekaterina Rumyantseva won gold, and Anna Milenina won silver. In the women's 6 km biathlon visually impaired race, Mikhalina Lysova won gold.

Girls/Women

Athlete	Events	Final
		Real Time	Calculated Time	Misses	Rank
Akzhana Abdikarimova	6 km, sitting	28:34.1	25:42.7	2 (1+1)	11
Natalia Bratiuk	6 km, standing	20:50.6	20:00.6	1 (1+0)	11
Nadezda Fedorova	6 km, sitting	24:54.4	24:54.4	5 (2+3)	10
Marina Galitsyna Guide: Maksim Pirogov	6 km, visually impaired	24:12.1	21:17.8	3 (1+2)	5
Irina Gulyayeva	6 km, sitting	22:22.4	22:22.4	1 (1+0)	4
Natalia Kocherova	6 km, sitting	22:41.1	22:41.1	0 (0+0)	5
Mikhalina LysovaGuide: Alexey Ivanov	6 km, visually impaired	18:59.7	18:48.3	0 (0+0)
Yuliya Mikheeva	6 km, standing	22:49.0	21:54.2	2 (1+1)	14
Anna Milenina	6 km, standing	18:05.2	17:21.8	0 (0+0)
Ekaterina Moshkovskaya Guide: Artem Norin	6 km, visually impaired	24:39.0	24:24.2	4 (2+2)	8
Ekaterina Rumyantseva	6 km, standing	19:26.0	17:06.1	1 (0+1)
Marta Zaynullina	6 km, sitting	23:12.0	23:12.0	1 (0+1)	7

Cross Country Skiing Results

Snowboarding

Snowboarding events involve athletes riding snowboards down a slope.

Snowboarding Schedule

• Snowboard Cross: Started on March 12.
• Slalom Race: Took place on March 16.

Wheelchair Curling

Wheelchair curling is a team sport similar to regular curling, but played by athletes in wheelchairs.

The wheelchair curling competition started on March 10. The Russian NPA team played against Sweden on March 15.

Team	Group Stage												Tiebreaker	Semifinal	Final / BM
	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Konstantin KurohktinAndrei Meshcheriakov Marat Romanov Daria Shchukina Alexander Shevchenko	GER L 4–9	KOR L 5–6	FIN W 12–5	NOR	USA	SVK	GBR	CAN	CHN	SUI	SWE

See also

In Spanish: Atletas Paralímpicos Neutrales en los Juegos Paralímpicos de Pyeongchang 2018 para niños