2 days to Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics: Everything you need to know

The Olympic Winter Games may have come to a close, but there is still plenty of action to come from Beijing.

That is because the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, are yet to be played out and will be starting soon.

So, take note of the important details as you prepare for more entertaining winter sports.

Kristina ‘Kicki’ Ulander of Sweden

Picture by 2021 Getty Images

When are the 2022 Winter Paralympics?

The multi-sport event starts on Friday 4 March with the Opening Ceremony at the Beijing National Stadium and runs until Sunday 13 March.

Brian McKeever, Canada’s most decorated Winter Paralympian (cross-country, biathlon)

Picture by 2018 Getty Images

2022 Winter Paralympics: Which sports will be contested?

There will be six different sports contested during the Paralympics: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, sled hockey, snowboarding and wheelchair curling.

Alpine skiing

The alpine skiing will be comprised of five different events: downhill, super-G, super combined, giant slalom, slalom which will have standing, sitting and vision-impaired competition categories.

There will be a total of 30 medal events to compete in with an equal split between men and women.

Ones to watch include: Marie Bochet (FRA), Jeroen Kampschreur (NED), Giacomo Bertagnolli (ITA), Henrieta Farkasova (SVK), and Ebba Aarsjoe (SWE).

Biathlon

Like alpine skiing, the biathlon is split into standing, sitting, and vision-impaired categories.

Biathlon was introduced at Innsbruck 1988 for athletes with a physical impairment, and at Albertville 1992 for athletes with a vision impairment.

This discipline combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.

Ones to watch in biathlon at the Paralympics include: Benjamin Daviet (FRA), Clara Klug (GER), Kendall Gretsch (USA), Liudmyla Liashenko (UKR), and Ekaterina Rumyantseva (RPC).

Cross-country skiing

This discipline is open to competitors with physical and visual impairments and first appeared as a Paralympic sport at Örnsköldsvik 1976.

The athletes to watch include: Carina Edlinger (USA), Oksana Masters (USA), Brian McKeever (CAN), Zebastian Modin (SWE), and Natalie Wilkie (CAN).

Para ice hockey

This fast-paced and physically demanding sport has become one of the most popular disciplines at the Paralympic Winter Games since being introduced at Lillehammer 1994.

Sled hockey is played by male and female athletes with a physical impairment in the lower part of the body.

USA will be hoping to secure their fourth successive Paralympic title in 2022 as eight teams take to the ice.

Some of the most accomplished athletes include: Declan Farmer (USA), Tyler McGregor (CAN), Andrei Kasatkin (RPC), Jung Seung-Hwan (KOR), and Andrea Macri (ITA).

Snowboarding

This discipline is made up of snowboard-cross, banked slalom, and giant slalom, with a total of eight medal events – two of which are for women.

The sport made its debut at Sochi 2014 with two medal events in women’s and men’s snowboard-cross.

In snowboarding, athletes combine speed and agility while racing down courses as fast as possible.

The ones to watch include: Mike Schultz (USA), Chris Vos (NED), Keith Gabel (USA), Ben Tudhope (AUS), Lisa Bunschoten (NED), and Sandrine Hamel (CAN).

Wheelchair curling

This sport is open to male and female athletes who have a physical impairment in the lower half of their body, including spinal-cord injuries, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and double-leg amputation.

At Beijing 2022, wheelchair curling will feature 12 mixed-gender teams with each team required to include at least one female player.

It was introduced at Torino 2006.

Ones to watch include: Kristina Ulander (SWE), Polina Rozkova (LAT), Haitao Wang (CHN), Mark Ideson (CAN), and Ole Fredrik Syversen (NOR).

2022 Winter Paralympics: How many athletes will participate?

The Beijing 2022 Paralympics will include a maximum of 736 Paralympians across 78 medal events.

This will be split into 39 medal events for men, 35 for women and 4 mixed events.

2022 Winter Paralympics schedule:

These are the medal events for the Beijing 2002 Winter Paralympic Games (Beijing times):

• 5 March: Para Alpine Skiing Downhill M/W (10:00-13:10), Para Biathlon Women’s and Men’s 6km (Sitting 10:00-11:15, Standing 12:00-13:15, Vision impaired 14:00-15:15)
• 6 March: Para Alpine Skiing Super G M/W (10:00-14:30), Para Cross-Country Skiing Men’s 18km (Sitting 10:00-11:35) and Women’s 12km (Sitting 12:30-14:00)
• 7 March: Para Cross-Country Skiing Men’s 20km Classic (Standing/Vision Impaired 10:00-12:00) and Women’s 15km Classic (Standing/Vision Impaired 12:30-15:00), Para Snowboard Cross M/W (Finals 11:30-14:30).
• 8 March: Para Alpine Skiing Super Combined M/W (Super G 10:00-12:30, Slalom 13:30-14:30), Para Biathlon Women’s and Men’s 10km (Sitting 10:00-11:15, Standing 12:00-13:15, Vision Impaired 14:00-15:15)
• 9 March: Para Cross-Country Skiing Sprint Free M/W (Semi-final and Final 12:00-15:00)
• 10 March: Para Alpine Skiing Giant Slalom M (9:30-11:30, 13:00-15:00)
• 11 March: Para Alpine Skiing Giant Slalom W (9:30-11:00, 13:00-15:00), Para Biathlon Women’s and Men’s 12.5km (Sitting 10:00-11:30, Standing 12:30-14:00, Vision Impaired 14:30-16:00)
• 12 March: Wheelchair Curling Gold medal final (14:35-17:30), Para Alpine Skiing Slalom M (9:30-11:00, 12:30-14:00), Para Cross-Country Skiing Men’s 10km Free Vision/Impaired/Standing (10:00-11:15) and Women’s 10km Freer Vision/Impaired/Standing (12:00-13:30), Para Snowboard Banked Slalom M/W Finals (12:00-15:00)
• 13 March: Para Ice Hockey Gold medal final (13:00-15:30), Para Alpine Skiing Slalom W (9:30-10:30, 12:30-14:00), Para Cross-Country Skiing Mixed Relay 4×2.5km (10:00-11:30), Open Relay 4×2.5km (12:00-13:30)

Kendall Gretsch of the United States competing at PyeongChang 2018

Picture by 2018 Getty Images

Credit: IOC