Paralympic Winter Games Guide: Everything You Need to Know About Beijing 2022

Beijing has once again become the epicenter of the sport.From 4 to 13 March The XIII Winter Paralympic Games will be held there. Do First city in the world to host a Summer (2008) and Winter (2022) Paralympic event Once again, the Olympic Stadium known as “El Nido” will host the opening and closing ceremonies of a version marked by a huge anti-Covid bubble, as happened at the Olympics. “Race” Vic Gonzalez and cross-country skier Paul McCurry-Redolad will be the only two Spanish actors. The first will be the flag bearer at the opening and the second at the closing.

When will the Beijing Paralympic Games take place?

The 2022 Winter Paralympic Games will start in Beijing on Friday March 4 officially and They close on the 13th. The competition will be held for 9 days 78 medals (39 men’s, 35 women’s, and four mixed) from all six sports Which is part of the Paralympic programme.

How many countries are competing?

They were expected to participate 650 athletes from 49 National Paralympic Committees, which is a record number. But after excluding Russia and Belarus, due to the invasion of Ukraine, there will be a total of 520 athletes from 47 countries. The United States and Canada are expected to maintain their dominance in the medal table. Three countries will make their debut in Beijing 2022: Israel, Azerbaijan and Puerto Rico.

Does Russia participate in the Paralympic Games?

Russia and Belaruswhich would in principle compete as neutral after the invasion of Ukraine, was She was excluded from the Games the day before they opened due to threats from other countries not to participate if she was there. The International Paralympic Committee was forced to make a decision to preserve the viability of the Games. The absence of Russia will mean a greater distribution of medals among other countrieswhere they took fifth place in the historical standings with 233 medals, preceded only by Norway, Germany, Austria and the United States.

The most recent precedent of vetoing an Olympic event was South Africa, which was unable to participate in the Games from 1964 to the winter of 1992 due to the policy of apartheid. Since then, no country has been excluded.

The Ukrainian Paralympic Committee was able to send a team of 20 athletes and nine mentors to Beijing, although His whereabouts are kept confidential for security reasons. The Ukrainians finished sixth at the 2018 Games.

The Spanish national team at the Beijing Paralympics

Spain will be represented in Beijing 2022 by the passenger Vic Gonzalez and cross country skier Paul McCurry-Redolad. The former, who will be the opening flag bearer, will face his second Paralympic Games after making his debut in Pyeongchang 2018. He will compete in figure skating and slalom slalom in the SB-L11 class (athletes who compete standing up).

“Don’t try, do it” It is his motto since February 22, 2015 his life changed. On that day, the ‘knight’ from Oviedo was taking an avalanche track in Aigestortes National Park and due to poor visibility It hit a wall of snow. He fell on his head and fractured C5 and C6 (neck), in addition to invading the spine by 30%.

When he got out of the operation, the doctor told him to remain paralyzed. He decided to fight with all his might to regain as much movement as possible and I was able to not even have to go in a wheelchair. But as a result, he was suffering from a lack of balance, coordination, strength and stamina.. Two years after the accident, he returned to skateboarding, a sport he had been practicing for over 25 years. He is the founder and owner of a snowboard school in Baqueira Beret (Pura Vida School). He qualified for his second games thanks to his eighth place in the world rankings in the slalom slalom.

Paul McCurry Redolad She is the Spanish reference in cross-country skiing He has been competing in international events for a decade. The Catalan player makes his debut in his first game and will make history by becoming the first Spanish athlete with cerebral palsy at a winter event. I was born with right hemiplegia. In Bolivia, where his parents were at work, but when he was 9 months old he arrived in Spain. It affects the movement and strength of the right side, in both the arm and the leg. At the age of five, he put on some skates for the first time and there was a crush. He also loved hockey and played on a non-disabled team, but when he found he couldn’t make much further progress, he turned to cross-country skiing. He is the great national authority and has been pursuing the Paralympic dream for 12 years.

Combine skiing and mountain trails. He competes in trail running and has coincided in more than one World Cup or World Cup with Kilian Journet or Laura Urgo. Paul McCurry Compete in three competitions in Beijing: the sprint, 12.5 km freestyle and 20 km classic. In addition, it is submitted to the International Paralympic Committee Athletes Council.

Calendar and timetable for the Spaniards in Beijing

March 6:

06:00-08:00 Spanish time – cross-rated on ice (Vic Gonzalez)

March 7

03:00-05:00 Spanish time – 20 km classic (Paul McCurry)

04:30-07:30 Spanish Time – Figure Skating Final (Vic Gonzalez)

March 9

03:00-04:50 Spanish Time – Sprint (Paul McCurry)

March 12

03:00-04:15 Spanish time – 12.5 kilometers free (Paul McCurry)

05:00-08:00 Spanish time – final slalom slalom on ice (Vic Gonzalez)

How many medals did Spain win at the Winter Paralympics?

Since the 1988 Innsbruck Paralympic GamesSpain won 4 medals (1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze), Our country did not come off the podium. In total, 43 medals (15 gold, 16 silver and 10 bronze). In the latest version, in Pyeongchang 2018, Astrid Vina won the first Spanish Paralympic medal in figure skating history.

Stars of the Beijing Paralympic Games

Canadian Brian McIver Is it The most successful male cross-country skater in Paralympic historywhere did he win 17 medals in five dates, Including 13 exquisite golds 20 world titles.

McKeever started skating at the age of three and dreamed of going to the Olympics. But at the age of 19, he was diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease, which caused him to lose his central sight. The 42-year-old has already announced that Beijing will be his first, sixth and final Games. Featured in an emotional Toyota Super Bowl ad.

Among the mathematics, stand out Oksana MastersThe The Paralympic hero who survived Chernobyl.Participate in the Winter and Summer Games In cross-country skiing, biathlon, rowing and cycling, he won 10 Paralympic medals.

She was born 32 years ago and has many abnormalities in the Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi, which was affected by radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in 1986. As a legacy of that, I was born with Only one kidney, six toes on each foot, and although he had five on his hands, he didn’t have the top of his thumb. In addition, his left leg was 15 cm shorter than the right and he did not have a shin. At the age of nine, one leg was amputated above the knee and five years later the other was amputated. He lived a real hell in the orphanage, suffering abuseAnd the She was even adopted by American Gay Masters, which changed her life.

He has a medal record Ragnhild Micklebestthe great star of all time 16 gold medals in cross-country skiing between 1988 and 2002. In total, he has won 27 (of which 22 are gold) at five Paralympic Games in cross-country skiing, speed sledges, and biathlon.

Paralympic sports in Beijing 2022

Six sports are played:

• Alpine skiing
• Snowboarding
• Cross country skiing
• biathlon
• window chair
• ice hockey

Paralympic venues “recycled”

Some of the stadiums, divided into three regions (Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou) were already used for the 2008 Olympic Games and were “recycled” to host new sports. The stadiums will be the same as at the Olympics.

famous water cube in beijing, Where Michael Phelps won eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympics and Teresa Perales five medals at the Paralympics,In ‘The Ice Cube’ to welcome Curling in a wheelchair. Also in the capital will be disputed hockey (In the National Indoor Stadium).

at Yanqing National Alpine Ski CenterIt is located about 90 kilometers northwest of the city Technical and speed tests of this sport. and in Zhangjiakou190 km from the capital in the same direction, events skateboard (Genteng Glacier Park), Biathlon and Nordic Skiing (National Biathlon Center). In each of these regions, there will be a Paralympic Village.

Paralympics mascot and emblem

The mascot of the Paralympic Winter Games is called Shuey Rhon Rhon and it is shining lantern, who will be responsible for the activation of the Winter Paralympic Games event. This pet originates from Shine warmth, friendship, courage and perseverance. Lanterns in China are considered a ancient cultural symbol Which is associated with harvest, celebration, prosperity and light.

The name “Shui Ron Run” has several meanings. “Shuey” has the same Chinese character pronunciation as “snow”, while the first “Rhon” means “to include, to forgive” in Mandarin Chinese.

The Logo The games, designed by artist Lin Congen, combine tradition and modernity. It represents a skater at the top and a skater at the bottom. The bar shape symbolizes the Chinese rolling mountains.

The Logo Beijing 2022 Paralympics is “Together for a common future” It represents the power of gaming to overcome global challenges as a society.