| Biathlon at the Winter Paralympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Governing body | IPC |
| Events | 18 (men: 9; women: 9) |
| Games | |
Biathlon has been contested at the Winter Paralympic Games since the Winter Games in 1988, in Innsbruck, Austria.
| Biathlon at the Winter Paralympics | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Governing body | IPC |
| Events | 18 (men: 9; women: 9) |
| Games | |
Biathlon has been contested at the Winter Paralympic Games since the Winter Games in 1988, in Innsbruck, Austria.
In the winter Paralympics where the sport was introduced, only athletes with physical impairments were allowed to compete. In the following Winter Paralympics in 1992, competitors expanded to include those with visual impairments. [1]
Athletes are separated into 3 categories: sitting, standing and visually impaired, and they compete in 3 events: sprint, middle distance, long distance. [1]
| Games | Year | Events | Best Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| 2 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| 4 | 1988 | 3 |  Finland | |
| 5 | 1992 | 4 | Finland | |
| 6 | 1994 | 10 |  Germany | |
| 7 | 1998 | 12 | Germany | |
| 8 | 2002 | 6 | Germany | |
| 9 | 2006 | 12 |  Russia | |
| 10 | 2010 | 12 | Russia | |
| 11 | 2014 | 18 | Russia | |
| 12 | 2018 | 18 |  Neutral Paralympic Athletes | |
| 13 | 2022 | 18 |  Ukraine | |
| Event | Class | 76 | 80 | 84 | 88 | 92 | 94 | 98 | 02 | 06 | 10 | 14 | 18 | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 km men | Standing | • | • | 2 | ||||||||||
| Visually impaired | • | • | 2 | |||||||||||
| Sitting | • | • | 2 | |||||||||||
| 12.5 km men | Standing | • | • | • | • | 4 | ||||||||
| Visually impaired | • | • | • | • | 4 | |||||||||
| Sitting | • | • | • | • | 4 | |||||||||
| 7.5 km men | Standing | ••• | •• | ••• | •• | • | • | • | • | 8 | ||||
| Visually impaired | •• | ••• | ••• | • | • | • | • | 7 | ||||||
| Sitting | •• | ••• | • | • | • | • | 6 | |||||||
| 3 km men | Standing | • | 1 | |||||||||||
| Visually impaired | • | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2.4 km men | Sitting | • | 1 | |||||||||||
| 12.5 km women | Standing | • | • | • | • | 4 | ||||||||
| Visually impaired | • | • | • | • | 4 | |||||||||
| Sitting | • | • | 2 | |||||||||||
| 10 km women | Standing | • | • | 2 | ||||||||||
| Visually impaired | • | • | 2 | |||||||||||
| Sitting | • | • | • | • | 4 | |||||||||
| 7.5 km women | Standing | • | • | • | • | 4 | ||||||||
| Visually impaired | • | •• | • | • | 4 | |||||||||
| Sitting | • | • | • | 3 | ||||||||||
| 6 km women | Standing | • | • | 2 | ||||||||||
| Visually impaired | • | • | 2 | |||||||||||
| Sitting | • | • | 2 | |||||||||||
| 3 km women | Standing | • | 1 | |||||||||||
| Visually impaired | • | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2.4 km women | Sitting | • | 1 | |||||||||||
| Total Events | 3 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 18 | |||||
[5] [6] NPCs in italics no longer compete at the Winter Paralympics
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia (RUS) | 24 | 27 | 15 | 66 |
| 2 | Germany (GER) | 23 | 14 | 20 | 57 |
| 3 | Ukraine (UKR) | 22 | 28 | 27 | 77 |
| 4 |  France (FRA) | 8 | 5 | 4 | 17 |
| 5 |  Norway (NOR) | 6 | 4 | 8 | 18 |
| 6 |  United States (USA) | 5 | 6 | 3 | 14 |
| 7 | Neutral Paralympic Athletes (NPA) | 5 | 5 | 1 | 11 |
| 8 |  China (CHN) | 4 | 2 | 6 | 12 |
| 9 |  Switzerland (SUI) | 3 | 5 | 3 | 11 |
| 10 | Finland (FIN) | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| 11 |  Canada (CAN) | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 |
| 12 |  Japan (JPN) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 13 |  Netherlands (NED) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 14 |  Belarus (BLR) | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 |
| 15 |  Sweden (SWE) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 16 |  Denmark (DEN) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 17 |  Unified Team | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 |  Austria (AUT) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 19 |  Slovakia (SVK) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 20 |  Italy (ITA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Kazakhstan (KAZ) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Poland (POL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (22 entries) | 113 | 113 | 115 | 341 | |
As of 2022 Winter Paralympics
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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).
Australia participated in the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Torino, Italy, from 10 to 19 March 2006. The Turin games represented Australia's ninth appearance at the Winter Paralympic Games. Australia were represented by 10 athletes, which made it their largest ever Winter Paralympic Games contingent. Australia competed in three sports: alpine skiing, biathlon, and cross-country skiing, but not ice sledge hockey or wheelchair curling. Prior to the games, the Australian Paralympic Committee set a target of two medals, down from the seven that were won four years earlier in Salt Lake City. This was due to the retirement of three-time medallist Bart Bunting, as well as changes made to the disability classification system. This target was met with Australia winning a silver and a bronze medal to finish equal 13th on the medal tally.
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 sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2020, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 539 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and about 80 events. The number and kinds of events may change from one Paralympic Games to another.
Brian McKeever is a Canadian cross-country skier and biathlete, who became Canada's most decorated Winter Paralympian when he won his 14th medal at the 2018 Winter Paralympics. He finished the 2018 Games with a career total of 13 gold medals and 17 medals, making him the most decorated Paralympic cross-country skier ever. McKeever claimed a 16th Paralympic gold medal in the men's para cross-country middle distance vision impaired race at Beijing 2022, drawing him level with the German para-alpine racer Gerd Schönfelder for the most men's Winter Paralympic wins.
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.
Paralympic alpine skiing has been competed at the Winter Paralympic Games since they were first held in 1976. Events include men's and women's downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and combined.
Cross-country skiing at the 1998 Winter Paralympics consisted of 39 events, 24 for men and 15 for women.
Cross-country skiing has been contested at the Winter Paralympic Games since the first Winter Games in 1976.
Ice sledge speed racing was contested at the Winter Paralympic Games from the second Winter Games in 1980, to the 1988 Winter Games, and then at the 1994 and 1998 Winter Games.
Following the success of the first ever 1976 Winter Paralympics in Örnsköldsvik four years earlier, Norway was selected to host the Paralympic Games in 1980.
Australia competed at the 1992 Winter Paralympics in Tignes and Albertville in France. They were the first winter Paralympics to be celebrated concurrently with the Olympic Games. The official logo of the Games was designed by Jean-Michel Folon. It depicts a bird with broken wings, soaring high across the peak of a mountain. This was used to reflect the sporting abilities of the athletes at the Games. The official mascot, Alpy, designed by Vincent Thiebaut, represented the summit of the Grande Motte mountain in Tignes. Alpy was shown on a mono-ski to demonstrate its athleticism and the colours of white, green and blue were used to represent purity/snow, hope/nature and discipline/the lake. The 1992 Games were where Australia won their first winter medals at the Paralympics. Michael Milton won Australia's first gold with a win in the men's slalom LW2. Milton also won a silver medal in the men's super-G LW2. At these Games, Australia was represented by 5 male athletes. Australia was placed 12th in the overall medal tally for the Winter Games winning a total of 4 medals: 1 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze.
Para-Nordic skiing classification is the classification system for para-Nordic skiing which includes the biathlon and cross-country events. The classifications for Para-Nordic skiing mirrors the classifications for Para-Alpine skiing with some exceptions. A functional mobility and medical classification is in use, with skiers being divided into three groups: standing skiers, sit skiers and visually impaired skiers. International classification is governed by International Paralympic Committee, Nordic Skiing (IPC-NS). Other classification is handled by national bodies. Before the IPC-NS took over classification, a number of organizations handled classification based on the type of disability.
LW12 is a para-alpine and para-Nordic sit skiing sport class defined by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). An LW12 skier needs to meet a minimum of one of several conditions including a single below knee but above ankle amputation, monoplegia that exhibits similar to below knee amputation, legs of different length where there is at least a 7 centimetres difference, combined muscle strength in the lower extremities less than 71. For international competitions, classification is done through IPC Alpine Skiing or IPC Nordic Skiing. For sub-international competitions, classification is done by a national federation such as Alpine Canada. For para-alpine, this class is subdivided into two subclasses.: LW12.1 and LW12.2. A new sit-skier competitor with only national classification will compete as LW12.2 in international competitions until they have been internationally classified.
LW11 is a para-alpine and para-Nordic sit skiing sport class, a classification defined by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC for people with paralysis in the lower extremities and people with cerebral palsy that affects the lower half of the body. Outside of skiing, the competitor in this class is unable to walk. For international competitions, classification is done through IPC Alpine Skiing or IPC Nordic Skiing. For sub-international competitions, classification is done by a national federation such as Alpine Canada.
LW10 is a para-alpine and para-Nordic sit-skiing classification for skiers who cannot sit up without support. For international skiing competitions, classification is conducted by IPC Alpine Skiing and IPC Nordic Skiing, while national federations such as Alpine Canada handle classification for domestic competitions.
LW3 is a para-alpine and para-Nordic standing skiing sport class defined by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for skiers with a disability affecting both legs, with double below knee amputation or a combined strength total for both legs of 60, with 80 as the baseline for people without disabilities. For international skiing competitions, classification is done through IPC Alpine Skiing or IPC Nordic Skiing. The classification has two subclasses for para-alpine skiing: LW3.1 which is for people with double below the knee amputations or similar disabilities, and LW3.2 which is for people with cerebral palsy that involves moderate athetoid, moderate ataxic impairment or slight diplegic involvement.
LW5/7 is a standing para-alpine and para-Nordic skiing classification for skiers with upper extremity issues in both limbs that may include double amputation of both arms and hands or dysmelia of the upper limbs. The class has three subclasses defined by the location of the disability on the upper extremities. International classification is done by IPC Alpine Skiing and IPC Nordic Skiing. On the national level, classification is handled by national sports federation such as Cross-Country Canada.
LW6/8 is a para-alpine and para-Nordic standing skiing sport class, a classification defined by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for people with an upper extremity issue who have paralysis, motor paresis affecting one arm, a single upper arm amputation or CP8 classified cerebral palsy. LW6/8 skiers use two skis and one pole in both para-alpine and para-Nordic skiing.
Oksana Shyshkova is a Ukrainian visually impaired cross-country skier and biathlete. She has competed at the Winter Paralympics thrice in 2010, 2014 and 2018. Oksana Shyshkova claimed 6 medals at the 2017 IPC World Championships, which is her notable achievement in the sport of Nordic skiing. She competed at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, winning a gold medal, in Women's 6 kilometres.
| Summer sports | |
|---|---|
| Winter sports | |
| Discontinued sports | |
| Demonstration sports | |
