Australia has competed in every Winter Paralympics. In 1976, the first Games, Australia's sole competitor was Ron Finneran, but he was not an official entrant. In 1980, Kyrra Grunnsund and Peter Rickards became the first official competitors, in alpine and cross-country skiing. The number of Australian athletes increased to three, five, five and six at the next four games, respectively, and all of the athletes were alpine skiers. The participation decreased to four in 1998 and climbed back up to six in 2002. Australia won its first Winter Paralympic medals in 1992, and has medalled at every games since then. All of the medals have been won in alpine skiing.
Wheelchair curling at the 2006 Winter Paralympics was played at the Pinerolo Palaghiaccio, in Pinerolo, 30 km southwest of Turin. Wheelchair curling was making its first appearance at the Paralympic Games and took the form of a mixed team event, open to athletes with a physical disability in the lower part of the body that required the everyday use of a wheelchair.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland competed at the 2006 Winter Paralympics held in Turin, Italy. The team was known by it shortened name of Great Britain, for identification purposes.
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 United States sent a delegation to compete at the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A total of 50 U.S. competitors took part in all five sports. The American delegation included five former members of the U.S. military, including a veteran of the Iraq War and a veteran of the War in Afghanistan.
Michael McCreadie is a Paralympian with successes in lawn bowls and wheelchair curling. He made his debut at the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Heidelberg as a swimmer. He won two bronze medals in lawn bowls at the 1976 Summer Paralympics. He also competed in swimming and wheelchair basketball at the same Games and captained the British wheelchair basketball team at the 1980 Summer Paralympics. After that he coached the British wheelchair basketball team at the 1988 and 1992 Summer Paralympics.
At the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Australia sent 11 athletes to compete against the other participating 42 nations. The delegation consisted of 3 sighted guides and 17 support staff. This was the largest delegation Australia had sent to a Winter Paralympics. Australia has participated in every winter Paralympics since its conception.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland competed at the inaugural Winter Paralympic Games in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The team was known by it shortened name of Great Britain, for identification purposes. The team was made up of athletes from the whole United Kingdom; athletes from Northern Ireland, who could later elect to hold Irish citizenship under the pre-1999 article 2 of the Irish constitution, were only eligible to represent Great Britain at this time. However no Northern Irish athletes took part in the Winter Paralympics until 2010 in Vancouver. Events were held for amputees and visually impaired athletes.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland competed at the 1992 Winter Paralympics held in Tignes and Albertville, France. The team was known by it shortened name of Great Britain, for identification purposes.
Germany sent 20 competitors to compete in four disciplines at the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They placed first overall in the medal standings with a total of 13 gold medals.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland competed at the 2002 Winter Paralympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, from 7 to 16 March 2002. The team was known by it shortened name of Great Britain, for identification purposes. The team was able to be made up of athletes from the whole United Kingdom; athletes from Northern Ireland, who elected to hold Irish citizenship under the pre-1999 article 2 of the Irish constitution, were eligible to represent either Great Britain or Ireland at the Paralympics. However no Northern Irish athletes took part in the Winter Paralympics until 2010 in Vancouver. In order to be eligible to take part in the Games athletes had to have a disability that fell into one of the six Paralympics disability categories.
Tom Killin is a British multi-sport Paralympian. Killin was paralysed following a traffic accident at the age of 17.
Aileen Neilson is a Scottish wheelchair curler. She is the first woman to skip a wheelchair curling team in either the Paralympic Games (2010) or World Championships (2011).
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland competed at the 1994 Winter Paralympics held in Lillehammer, Norway. The team was known by it shortened name of Great Britain, for identification purposes. Twenty-three athletes, all of whom were men,. competed for Britain. The team won five medals at the Games, all bronze, and finished 21st in the medal table. Richard Burt won two medals in alpine skiing, as he had done in the 1992 Games. In addition to the medal performances the team had seven top ten finishes.
Kelly Gallagher MBE, is a retired British skier and the first athlete from Northern Ireland to compete in the Winter Paralympics. Gallagher won Britain's first ever Winter Paralympic gold medal during Sochi 2014.
The 1994 Winter Paralympics were held in Lillehammer, Norway. Australia sent six male skiers, who won three gold, two silver and four bronze medals. Australia, at the time, achieved their best ever performance at a Winter Paralympics, finishing 5th overall in the alpine skiing competition, 9th in the medal standings, and 11th in the total medal count out of 31 nations.
Angie Malone is a British Paralympian and World Champion Wheelchair curler.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland competed at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, held between 7–16 of March 2014. The team was known by it shortened name of Great Britain, for identification purposes.
Major Jennifer "Jen" Kehoe is an author and former professional skier, formerly competing with visually impaired athlete Menna Fitzpatrick as her sighted guide on the IPC World Cup circuit and has represented Great Britain winning four medals including gold at the Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Games in South Korea becoming Britains most decorated winter Paralympians. She was a British Army Officer.
Great Britain competed at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, China which took place between 4–13 March 2022.
