Winter Paralympic Games

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

Paralympic Games
Main topics
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Games
Summer Paralympics Winter Paralympics
Regional games
Asian Para Games African Para Games European Para Championships Parapan American Games
v t e

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 (since 1992) 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 Winter Paralympics began in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. Those Games were the first Paralympics that featured athletes other than those in wheelchairs. The Games have expanded and grown, including the Summer Paralympic Games, to become part of the largest international sporting event after the Olympics. Given their expansion, the need for a very specific classification system has arisen. This system has also given rise to controversy and opened the door for various forms of cheating, which has tainted the integrity of the Games.

Norway has been the top-ranking (medals) nation for fourth Paralympic Winter Games: 1980, 1988, 1994, and 1998. Germany has been the top-ranking (medals) for third Paralympic Winter Games: 1976, 2002, and 2010. Russia (2006 and 2014) and United States (1992 and 2018) have been the top-ranking nation two time each. Austria (1984) and China (2022) have been the top-ranking nation one time each.^[1]