The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, are held almost immediately following the respective Olympic Games. All Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. The Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece, several months before the Olympic Games. This ceremony starts the Olympic torch relay, which formally ends with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Through 2022, the flame would continue to burn in the cauldron for the duration of the Games, until it was extinguished during the Olympic closing ceremony. In 2024, electric lighting and mist were used to create a simulated flame for the Olympic cauldron, with the actual flame kept in a lantern exhibited at an adjacent location.
The 2010 Winter Paralympics, or the tenth Paralympic Winter Games, were held in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada from March 12 to 21, 2010. The opening ceremony took place in BC Place Stadium in Vancouver and the Closing Ceremony in Whistler Medals Plaza.
The 2014 Winter Paralympics, the 11th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, were an international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), held in Sochi, Russia, from 7 to 16 March 2014. 45 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) participated in the Games, which marked the first time Russia ever hosted the Paralympics. The Games featured 72 medal events in five sports, and saw the debut of snowboarding at the Winter Paralympics.
Paralympic cross-country skiing is an adaptation of cross-country skiing for athletes with disabilities. Paralympic cross-country skiing is one of two Nordic skiing disciplines in the Winter Paralympic Games; the other is biathlon. Competition is governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The Paralympic symbols are the icons, flags, and symbols used by the International Paralympic Committee to promote the Paralympic Games.
The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The Winter Paralympic Games are held every four years directly following the Winter Olympic Games and hosted in the same city. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) oversees the Games. Medals are awarded in each event: with gold for first place, silver for second, and bronze for third, following the tradition that the Olympic Games began in 1904.
The torch relay for the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games was held between August 28 and September 6 in eleven cities, and also included the tomb of Yellow Emperor.
Australia has participated officially in every Paralympic Games since its inauguration in 1960 except for the 1976 Winter Paralympics.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has participated in every summer and winter Paralympic Games.
The 2020 Summer Paralympics, branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Para-snowboarding classification is the classification system for para-snowboarding. The sport originally called Adaptive Snowboard is now practiced by hundreds of athletes around the world. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) defines three classes: SB-LL for athletes with a physical impairment affecting one or both legs, and SB-UL for athletes with a physical impairment affecting one or both arms who compete standing. The sport made its official Winter Paralympic debut in the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia.
Victoria "Tori" Pendergast is an Australian F58 athletics shot put competitor and LW12.1 classified Para-alpine skier. When she competed at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, she became Australia's first female sit skier at the Winter Paralympics. She competed in two events, finishing seventh in women's slalom sit-ski and tenth in the women's giant slalom sit-ski. She also won a silver and a bronze medal in the slalom and super-G at the 2013 North America Cup, and a bronze medal in the giant slalom at the 2013 IPC World Cup in Thredbo.
Joany Badenhorst is a South African-born Australian Paralympian who was selected to compete in Para-snowboard cross at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi. She would have been the first female snowboarder to represent Australia at the Winter Paralympics, but was forced to withdraw from her event after injuring her left knee on the morning of the event. In February 2018, she was selected in the Australian team to compete at the 2018 Winter Paralympics.
Turkey sent a delegation to compete at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, held between 7–16 March 2014. This marked the nation's first participation in the Winter Paralympic Games. Turkey sent two athletes; Mehmet Çekiç and Hilmi Esat Bayindirli; both were competitors in alpine skiing. The nation's best finish in any event was 18th, by Bayindirli in the men's sitting giant slalom.
Christopher Klebl is an American-Canadian cross-country skier who represented the United States at the 2006 and 2010 Winter Paralympics before winning a gold medal for Canada at the 2014 Winter Paralympics.
Vasily Shaptsiaboi is a Belarusian Paralympic biathlete, cross-country skier, and road bicycle racer who won many medals at both Winter and Summer Paralympic Games.
Svetlana Sergeeva in Kargopol, Arkhangelsk Oblast is a Paralympian athlete from Russia, competing mainly in category T37 throwing and sprint events. She competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China and the 2012 Games in London. At the London Games she won a track gold as part of the sprint relay and has also achieved success as an individual athlete at both World and European events.
The 2020 Summer Paralympics torch relay was held from 12 August 2021 to 24 August 2021. After being lit in multiple locations in Japan and Great Britain, the torch was intended to travel around Japan and end in Tokyo's New National Stadium, the main venue of the 2020 Summer Paralympics. The relay took place on a smaller scale than the Olympic relay, starting in Tokyo, with local flames lighted through Saitama, Chiba and Shizuoka prefectures where events of the games were held. The relay ended at the 2020 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony. The LIXIL Corporation was the presenting partner of the torch relay.
