Winter Paralympic Games facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Winter Paralympic Games
One of the four Paralympic cauldrons located in Yanqing during the 2022 Winter Paralympics
Games
1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 2030 2034
Sports (details)
Alpine skiing Biathlon Cross‑country skiing Ice sledge hockey Para-snowboarding Wheelchair curling

The Winter Paralympic Games are a huge international sports event. Athletes with physical disabilities compete in exciting snow and ice sports. These athletes may have conditions like mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, or cerebral palsy. The Winter Paralympics happen every four years, right after the Winter Olympic Games. Since 1992, they have even been held in the same city as the Olympics.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is in charge of organizing these Games. Just like the Olympics, medals are given out for each event: gold for first place, silver for second, and bronze for third. This tradition started with the Olympic Games in 1904.

The first Winter Paralympics were held in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. These Games were special because they included athletes who were not just in wheelchairs. Over the years, the Winter Paralympics, along with the Summer Paralympic Games, have grown a lot. They are now one of the biggest international sports events in the world, right after the Olympics. Because so many different athletes compete, a special classification system is used. This system helps make sure competitions are fair.

Norway has been the top country in medals four times: in 1980, 1988, 1994, and 1998. Germany has led the medal count three times: in 1976, 2002, and 2010. Russia (2006 and 2014) and the United States (1992 and 2018) have each been the top nation twice. Austria (1984) and China (2022) have each been the top nation once.

History of the Winter Paralympics

The Winter Paralympics started in a similar way to the Summer Paralympics. After World War II, many soldiers were injured. They found that sports helped them heal and recover. Dr. Ludwig Guttmann organized sports competitions for injured soldiers in British hospitals starting in 1948. These competitions grew, and in 1960, a special Olympics for athletes with disabilities was held in Rome. This event, which happened after the 1960 Summer Olympics, is now known as the first Paralympics. Over 400 wheelchair athletes competed there.

Official sticker from the first Winter Paralympics held in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, 1976

Sepp Zwicknagl was an Austrian skier who lost both his legs. He was a pioneer in snow sports for disabled athletes. He experimented with skiing using special leg supports. His work helped create new technologies for people with disabilities who wanted to do winter sports. Progress was slow, but in 1974, the first official world ski competition for athletes with physical impairments was held. It included downhill and cross-country skiing.

The first Winter Paralympics took place in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, from February 21 to 28. The main events were alpine and Nordic skiing for athletes with amputations and visual impairments. Ice sledge racing was also shown as a demonstration sport. There were 198 athletes from 16 countries. This was the first time that athletes with disabilities other than wheelchair users were allowed to compete.

Starting with the 1988 Summer Games, the Summer Paralympics began to be held in the same host city as the Summer Olympic Games. This happened because the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) made an agreement. The 1992 Winter Paralympics were the first Winter Games to use the same sports facilities as the Winter Olympics.

Fair Play and Rules

Fair play is very important in the Paralympic Games. Athletes are expected to compete honestly. Sometimes, athletes have tried to gain an unfair advantage. This can happen by making their disability seem worse than it is, or by using banned performance-enhancing drugs.

In 2002, German skier Thomas Oelsner was the first Winter Paralympian to test positive for steroids. He had won two gold medals in alpine skiing, but his medals were taken away.

One challenge for Paralympic officials is a technique called "boosting." This is when athletes try to raise their blood pressure on purpose. This can make them perform better, especially in endurance sports like cross-country skiing. Athletes might cause minor trauma to their limbs below a spinal injury, which they don't feel but which affects their blood pressure. They might also let their bladder get too full. These actions are against the rules because they create an unfair advantage.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) found that some athletes from Russia were involved in a system to hide positive drug tests at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi. Because of this, in 2016, the IPC decided to ban the entire Russian team from the 2016 Summer Paralympics. The IPC said that the Russian Paralympic Committee could not follow the rules for anti-doping. IPC President Sir Philip Craven said that the Russian government had "failed its Para athletes."

Disability Categories in the Paralympics

The IPC has set up six main disability categories for both the Summer and Winter Paralympics. Athletes must have one of these physical disabilities to compete. However, not every sport can include athletes from every disability category.

• Amputee: Athletes who have lost all or part of at least one limb.
• Cerebral Palsy: Athletes with brain damage that doesn't get worse, like cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, or stroke. These conditions affect muscle control, balance, or coordination.
• Intellectual Disability: Athletes who have a significant difficulty with intellectual functioning and related challenges with daily living skills.
• Wheelchair: Athletes with spinal cord injuries or other disabilities that mean they need to compete in a wheelchair.
• Visually Impaired: Athletes with vision problems, from partial vision (enough to be considered legally blind) to complete blindness.
• Les Autres: This French term means "the others." It's for athletes with a physical disability that doesn't fit exactly into the other five categories. Examples include dwarfism, multiple sclerosis, or birth defects of the limbs, like those caused by thalidomide.

Athlete Classification Systems

Even within the six disability categories, athletes are further grouped based on how much their impairment affects their ability to perform. Different sports have different classification systems. These systems are designed to allow as many athletes as possible to compete fairly against others with similar abilities. It's a bit like age groups in junior sports or weight classes in wrestling.

The biggest challenge is dealing with the wide range of disabilities. So, there will always be some differences in ability within a single classification group. Here's a look at how athletes are classified in Winter Paralympic sports:

Alpine Skiing Classifications

Alpine skiing includes events like slalom and giant slalom. It's for athletes with spinal injuries, Cerebral Palsy, amputations, Les Autres, and visual impairments. There are eleven classifications: seven for standing athletes, three for sitting athletes, and three for visually impaired athletes. These groups are based on how well athletes can move and what equipment they need (like prosthetics or ski poles). Snowboard Cross is now part of this category, but with fewer classifications.

Biathlon Classifications

Biathlon combines cross-country skiing with target shooting. It needs both strength and good aim. Athletes with physical disabilities and visual impairments can compete. There are fifteen classes: twelve for athletes with physical impairments and three for those with visual impairments. All athletes compete together, but their finish times are adjusted based on their disability class to determine the final order. Visually impaired athletes use special acoustic signals that change sound based on how close they are to the target.

Cross-Country Skiing Classifications

Cross-country skiing, also called Nordic skiing, is open to athletes with Cerebral Palsy, amputations, wheelchair users, visual impairments, and intellectual impairments. There are fifteen classifications: three for visually impaired athletes, nine for standing athletes, and three for seated athletes. These groups are decided much like in alpine skiing, looking at the athlete's function and need for special equipment.

Ice Sledge Hockey Classifications

Ice sledge hockey game at the 2010 Winter Paralympics

Ice Sledge Hockey is only for male athletes with a physical disability in their lower body. The game uses regular hockey rules with some changes. Athletes sit on sledges with two blades, allowing the puck to pass underneath. They use two sticks, one with a spike to push and one with a blade to shoot. Athletes are put into three groups:

• Group 1: Athletes with no sitting balance or major problems in both upper and lower limbs.
• Group 2: Athletes with some sitting balance and moderate problems in their arms and legs.
• Group 3: Athletes with good balance and minor problems in their arms and legs.

Wheelchair Curling Classifications

Wheelchair curling is a team sport for both men and women. It's for athletes with permanent lower limb disabilities who use a wheelchair every day. Athletes with Cerebral Palsy or Multiple Sclerosis can also play if they use a wheelchair. Players can push the stone by hand or use a special pole. There are no specific classifications in this event, as long as all athletes need a wheelchair for daily movement.

Para-Snowboarding Classifications

On May 2, 2012, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) made "para-snowboarding" (also called adaptive snowboarding) an official medal event for the 2014 Winter Paralympics under Alpine Skiing. It started with men's and women's standing snowboard cross competitions. Initially, it was only for athletes with lower-limb impairments, and those with amputations could wear prosthetics. The events were timed, but there were no adjustments for different levels of impairment.

At the 2018 Winter Paralympics, the number of events grew from 2 to 10. Lower limb classifications were split into two groups: LL-1 for more severe impairment and LL-2 for less severe impairment. The banked slalom event was also added. Snowboard cross races became head-to-head knockout heats. In 2022, events for athletes with upper-limb impairments were added. However, the IPC removed the women's LL-1 category because there weren't enough athletes. Athletes like Brenna Huckaby from the United States had to fight to be allowed to compete in the LL-2 class instead.

List of Winter Paralympic Sports

Many different sports have been part of the Paralympic program over the years.

All-Time Medal Table (1976–2022)

This table shows the top 20 nations based on official data from the International Paralympic Committee. Countries are ranked by the number of gold medals first, then silver, then bronze.

No.	Nation	Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Norway (NOR)	13	140	111	86	334
2	United States (USA)	13	117	130	88	335
3	Austria (AUT)	13	109	118	116	343
4	Germany (GER)	9	109	85	81	275
5	Russia (RUS)	6	84	88	61	233
6	Finland (FIN)	13	79	51	62	192
7	France (FRA)	13	63	57	60	183
8	Canada (CAN)	13	58	52	76	186
9	Switzerland (SUI)	13	53	55	50	158
10	West Germany (FRG)	4	42	43	35	120
11	Ukraine (UKR)	7	38	51	52	141
12	Sweden (SWE)	13	28	35	44	107
13	Japan (JPN)	13	27	42	37	97
14	China (CHN)	6	19	20	23	62
15	Slovakia (SVK)	8	18	21	22	61
17	New Zealand (NZL)	12	17	7	11	35
18	Italy (ITA)	12	16	25	32	73
19	Spain (ESP)	12	15	16	12	43
20	Australia (AUS)	12	12	6	17	35

Host Cities of the Winter Paralympic Games

Games	Year	Host City	Opened by	Dates	Nations	Competitors			Sports	Events	Top Nation
						Total	Men	Women
1	1976	Örnsköldsvik, Sweden	King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden	21–28 February	16	53			2	53	West Germany (FRG)
2	1980	Geilo, Norway	King Olav V of Norway	1–7 February	18	299				63	Norway (NOR)
3	1984	Innsbruck, Austria	President Rudolf Kirchschläger	14–20 January	21	419			3	107	Austria (AUT)
4	1988	Innsbruck, Austria	President Kurt Waldheim	18–25 January	22	377			4	97	Norway (NOR)
5	1992	Tignes and Albertville, France	President François Mitterrand	25 March – 1 April	24	365	288	77	3	78	United States (USA)
6	1994	Lillehammer, Norway	Queen Sonja of Norway	10–19 March	31	471			5	133	Norway (NOR)
7	1998	Nagano, Japan	Crown Prince Naruhito	5–14 March	32	571				122	Norway (NOR)
8	2002	Salt Lake City, United States	President George W. Bush	7–16 March	36	416			4	92	Germany (GER)
9	2006	Turin, Italy	President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi	10–19 March	39	486			5	58	Russia (RUS)
10	2010	Vancouver and Whistler, Canada	Governor General Michaëlle Jean	12–21 March	44	506				64	Germany (GER)
11	2014	Sochi, Russia	President Vladimir Putin	7–16 March	45	550			6	72	Russia (RUS)
12	2018	Pyeongchang, South Korea	President Moon Jae-in	9–18 March	49	569				80	United States (USA)
13	2022	Beijing, China	President Xi Jinping	4–13 March	46	564				78	China (CHN)
14	2026	Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy		6–15 March						79
15	2030			8–17 March
16	2034			10–19 March

See also

In Spanish: Juegos Paralímpicos de Invierno para niños

• Summer Paralympic Games