The 1992 Winter Paralympics (french: Jeux paralympiques d'hiver de 1992) were the fifth Winter Paralympics. They were the first Winter Paralympics to be celebrated with the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

cooperation. They were also the first ever Paralympics or a Winter Parasports event held in France. They were held at the resort of

Tignes Tignes () is a commune in the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France, known for the highest skiable area and the longest ski season in Europe. It is located in the Savoie region with good t ...

as a support venue of the main host city

Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...

, France, from 25 March to 1 April 1992. For the first time, demonstration events in

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

and Nordic Skiing for athletes with an

intellectual disability Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation, Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signif ...

and

Biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not time ...

for athletes with a

visual impairment Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

were held.

Sports

The games consisted of 79 events in three disciplines of two sports. * Alpine skiing - Paralympic pictogram

Alpine skiing * Nordic skiing ** Biathlon - Paralympic pictogram

Cross-country skiing

Medal table

The top 10

NPCs A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster ...

by number of gold medals are listed below. The host nation (France) is highlighted.

Participating nations

Twenty four nations participated in the 1992 Winter Paralympics.

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

became an independent country after their

reunification A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities, or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal governm ...

while

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

was in the process of their country's dissolution.

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

made their debut appearances at the Winter Games. * * * * * * * * * (Host nation) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mascot

The official

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

was ''Alpy'', designed by Vincent Thiebaut, represented the summit of the

Grande Motte Grande Motte is a mountain of Savoie, France. It lies in the Massif de la Vanoise range. It has an elevation of 3,653 metres above sea level. One side of it is in the Tignes Tignes () is a commune in the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie dep ...

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 bird logo was designed by

Jean-Michel Folon Jean-Michel Folon (1 March 1934 – 20 October 2005) was a Belgian artist, illustrator, painter, and sculptor. Early life Folon was born on 1 March 1934 in Uccle, Brussels, Belgium in 1934. He studied architecture at the Institut Saint-Luc. C ...

References

External links