The 2022 Winter Paralympics (), also known as XIII Paralympic Winter Games, commonly known as Beijing 2022 (), were an international

winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

multi-sport A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) Nation state, nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport ev ...

parasports Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are forms of adapted physical activities from existing non-disabled sports, while others have been specifically created f ...

event held in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, China, from 4 to 13 March 2022. This was the 13th

Winter Paralympic Games 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. Th ...

, as administered by the

International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; ) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nin ...

(IPC). Beijing was selected as the host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in 2015 at the

128th IOC Session The 128th IOC Session took place from July 31 – August 3, 2015, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. The host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics and the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics were elected during the 128th IOC Sess ...

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, Malaysia; taking into account its hosting of the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China, from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

, Beijing is the first city to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics as well as the Summer and Winter Paralympics. This was the overall second Paralympics in China. It was the last of three consecutive Paralympics hosted in

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

. These Games featured 564 athletes representing 46

National Paralympic Committee A National Paralympic Committee (NPC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Paralympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), NPCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the ...

s (NPCs), competing in 78 medal events across six sports. Participation in the Games was impacted by the ongoing

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

; the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

(IOC) condemned Russia for violating the

Olympic Truce The Olympic Truce is a tradition originating from ancient Greece that dates back to 776 BC. A " truce" () was announced before and during the Olympic Games to ensure the host city state ( Elis) was not attacked and athletes and spectators could t ...

, and the IPC ultimately banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing. While the IPC initially announced that the countries' athletes would be allowed to compete independently under the Paralympic flag, it backtracked on 3 March 2022 – the eve of the opening ceremonies – following threats of a boycott by multiple NPCs, and announced that Belarusian and Russian athletes would be prohibited from competing. The Belarusian and Russian delegations competed at a replacement event from 17 to 21 March in

Khanty-Mansiysk Khanty-Mansiysk (, lit. ''Khanty-Mansi Town''; Khanty: , ''Jomvoćś''; Mansi: , ''Abga'') is a city in west-central Russia. Technically, it is situated on the eastern bank of the Irtysh River, from its confluence with the Ob, in the oil-ri ...

, Russia. Armenia, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan also competed at the replacement event. Host nation

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

finished at the top of the medal table, winning a total of 61 medals, of which 18 were gold, setting a new record as the most successful Asian country at a single Winter Paralympics with the most total medals, gold, silver, and bronze.

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

also made their best historical performance and finished in second place with 29 medals, of which 11 were gold, and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

retained the third place achieved in 2010, 2014 and 2018 with a total of 25 medals, of which eight were gold again.

Host selection

As part of a formal agreement between the

and the

first established in 2001, the winner of the bid for the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

was also to host the 2022 Winter Paralympics. Beijing was selected as the host city of the 2022 Winter Olympics after beating

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

by four votes on 31 July 2015 at the 128th

IOC Session This is the list of International Olympic Committee (IOC) meetings. Olympic Congresses IOC Sessions There has been a session during all Olympic Games except the 1900, 1904 and 1908 Summer Olympic Games, Summer Olympics and the 1924, 1928 and ...

, Malaysia.

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony was held on 4 March 2022 at the Beijing National Stadium; it was directed by

Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (; born 14 November 1950) is a Chinese filmmaker.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retrieved 21 August 2008. A leading figure of China's Cinem ...

, with the theme "Blossoming of Life". During his opening remarks, IPC president Andrew Parsons condemned the

and the circumvention of the

by Russia, emphasising that Paralympic athletes compete with, and not "against", each other, and that "the 21st century is a time for dialogue and diplomacy, not war and hate". The final torchbearer was four-time Chinese

para-athletics Para-athletics is the sport of athletics practiced by people with a disability as a disabled sports, parasport. The list of athletics events, athletics events within the parasport are mostly the same as those available to able-bodied people, w ...

gold medalist

Li Duan Li Duan (; born 1978) is a Chinese Paralympic long jumper F11. He became blind after an explosion on 11 September 1996. Before that, he was a professional basketball player who played for the Chinese Basketball Association team Shenyang Army ...

, who mounted the torch at the centre of a large snowflake sculpture.

Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony was held on 13 March 2022. The ceremony closed after nine days of competition and 78 events at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing, China.

Sports

Seventy-eight events in five sports were held during the 2022 Winter Paralympics, two lower than 2018. In June 2019, the IPC dropped four of the six proposed disciplines for women's snowboarding (leaving only LL2 banked slalom and snowboard cross), as they did not meet the required viability benchmarks during the 2019 World Para Snowboard Championships. * Alpine skiing - Paralympic pictogram

Nordic skiing Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe to heel. Re ...

Cross-country skiing - Paralympic pictogram

Ice sledge hockey - Paralympic pictogram

Venues

Beijing cluster

;

Olympic Green The Olympic Green () is an Olympic Park in Chaoyang, Beijing, Chaoyang, Beijing, China. The three main facilities there include the National Stadium (China), National Stadium (Bird's Nest), Water Cube, and National Indoor Stadium. Olympic Green ...

venues *

Beijing National Aquatics Center The Water Cube (水立方), fully a.k.a. the National Aquatics Centre (), is a swimming center at the Olympic Green in Chaoyang, Beijing, Chaoyang, Beijing, China. The Water Cube was originally constructed to host the aquatics competitions at ...

–

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

* Beijing National Indoor Stadium – para ice hockey *

Beijing National Stadium The National Stadium (), the Bird's Nest (), is a stadium at Olympic Green in Chaoyang, Beijing, Chaoyang, Beijing, China. The National Stadium, covering an area of 204,000 square meters with an 80,000 person capacity (91,000 with temporary ...

–

opening Opening may refer to: Types of openings * Hole * A title sequence or opening credits * Grand opening of a business or other institution * Inauguration * Keynote * Opening sentence * Opening sequence * Opening statement, a beginning statemen ...

and closing ceremonies * Beijing Paralympic Village *

China National Convention Center The China National Convention Center, previously known as the Olympic Green Convention Center () is a convention center located in the Olympic Green in Beijing. History It was designed by RMJM and was originally used for the 2008 Summer Olymp ...

– MPC/IBC

Yanqing District Yanqing District (), formerly known as Yanqing County before 2015, is a District (China), district of the municipality of Beijing located northwest of the city proper of Beijing, 74km away from the city center. The district consists of 3 Subdi ...
cluster

* Xiaohaituo Alpine Skiing Field –

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

* Yanqing MMC: Media Center * Yanqing Paralympic Village and Medal Plaza

Zhangjiakou Zhangjiakou (), also known as Kalgan and by several other names, is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province in Northern China, bordering Beijing to the southeast, Inner Mongolia to the north and west, and Shanxi to the southwest ...
cluster

* Kuyangshu Biathlon Field –

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

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 ti ...

* Genting Resort –

Snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

* Zhangjiakou Paralympic Village and Medal Plaza

Torch relay

The heritage flame for the 2022 Winter Paralympics was lit in

Stoke Mandeville Stoke Mandeville is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located three miles (5 km) from Aylesbury and 3.4 miles (5.5 km) from the market town of Wendover. Although a separate civil ...

, United Kingdom on 1 March and was sent virtually to

, when another eight flames were lit and collected around the city and

Zhangjiakou Zhangjiakou (), also known as Kalgan and by several other names, is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province in Northern China, bordering Beijing to the southeast, Inner Mongolia to the north and west, and Shanxi to the southwest ...

merged in a small ceremony in front of the

Temple of Heaven The Temple of Heaven () is a complex of imperial Religious Confucianism, religious Confucian buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperor of China, Emperors of the Ming dynasty, Ming and ...

during the March 3 evening in a small ceremony in front of the

The following day, unified fire was brought to

and the in two another places in Beijing, including the

.During the opening ceremony day the torch relay continued at three more locations including the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee (BOCOG) headquarters and finished at the same night the

during the opening ceremonies when the Paralympic Cauldron was lit.

Participating National Paralympics Committees

In total, 46

s have qualified athletes.

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

made their Winter Paralympic debut, while

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

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

, and

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

returned for the first time since Lillehammer 1994, Salt Lake 2002, and Turin 2006, respectively. Seven National Paralympic Committees that participated in PyeongChang 2018 did not send their delegations to Beijing:

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. Additionally,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

were excluded from participation or prohibited from participating. A new record of 138 female athletes were scheduled to compete, which was five more than the 133 female athletes in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. On 24 February 2022, the first day of the

, the

condemned the breach of the

(which lasts from the beginning of the Olympics through the end of the Paralympics) by Russia. President of the IPC Andrew Parsons stated that getting the Ukrainian team to Beijing would be a "mammoth challenge". The IOC called for the flags of both Russia and Belarus not to be displayed at any international sporting event, the latter due to the country's support of Russia's aggression, and officials of the

Belarus Olympic Committee The National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus (, ) is one of many national Olympic committees that make up the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Created in 1991, the NOC RB (), was charged with selecting athletes to represent Bela ...

having been accused of political discrimination against Belarusian athletes. The

n flag has already been prohibited from international sporting events through December 2021 due to sanctions by the

World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; , AMA) is an international organization co-founded by the governments of over 140 nations along with the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against d ...

(WADA), and its athletes would have originally participated under the name "RPC" (

Russian Paralympic Committee The Russian Paralympic Committee () is the National Paralympic Committee representing Russia. History The Russian Paralympic Committee was founded in 1996. On 7 August 2016, it was suspended by the International Paralympic Committee due to Do ...

). On 28 February 2022, the IOC Executive Board further called for Russian and Belarusian athletes not to be included in or allowed to participate in any international sporting event. On 2 March 2022, the IPC declared that Russian and Belarusian athletes would be included independently under or allowed to participate independently under the Paralympic flag, with their results not counting in the medal standings. As a result of criticism by several National Paralympic Committees, who threatened to boycott the Games, the IPC announced on 3 March 2022 that they would reverse their earlier decision, banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing at the 2022 Winter Paralympics. In response,

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

's press secretary

Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov (, ; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat serving as the Kremlin Press Secretary, spokesman for President of Russia, Russian president Vladimir Putin since 2012. In response, Russia hosted a replacement event named "We are together, Sport" that was attended by Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Armenia.

was scheduled to make its debut, but its only athlete was seriously injured at the last training session on the eve of the start and did not compete in his event. However, the country participated in the Parade of Nations in both the opening and closing ceremonies. 2022 Winter Paralympics games countries

Number of athletes by National Paralympic Committee

564

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

s from 46

NPCs A non-player character (NPC) is a 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 (or referee) rather than by a ...

Calendar

Medal summary

Podium sweeps

During the medals ceremony, the Ukrainians' men's 6 kilometres vision impaired biathlon silver and bronze medal teams were mistakenly placed in each other's podium positions.

Branding

Emblem

The emblem for the 2022 Winter Paralympics, "Flying High" (""), was unveiled alongside its Olympic counterpart on 15 December 2017 at the

. Designed by Lin Cunzhen, it is a multi-coloured ribbon resembling the Chinese character for "fly" (飞"), and is designed to symbolize "an athlete in a wheelchair rushing towards the finish line and victory". They are the first Paralympics to use an updated version of the " agitos" emblem in an official capacity.

Mascot

The mascot "Shuey Rhon Rhon" () was unveiled on 17 September 2019 at the Shougang Ice Hockey Arena and was designed by Jiang Yufan. The mascot is designed with lanterns as the prototype. Lanterns represent harvest, celebration, warmth and light. The wishful shape at the top symbolizes auspicious happiness; the continuous pattern of the dove of peace and the

symbolizes the peaceful friendship and highlights the characteristics of the place where the place is held; the decorative pattern incorporates the traditional Chinese paper-cut art; the snow on the face represents the meaning of "a fall of seasonable snow gives promise of a fruitful year" (). It also reflects the anthropomorphic design and highlights the mascot's cuteness.

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control

Winter Paralympics 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 by year Sports competitions in Beijing

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics 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 Kore ...

Sport in Zhangjiakou Multi-sport events in China 2022 in Beijing

Sports events affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022 in disability sport