The largest ever Winter Paralympics were officially opened in PyeongChang, South Korea, on March 9. The Games started off with a colourful Opening ceremony that celebrated the themes of passion and peace, held at the PyeongChang Olympic Stadium.
The 2018 Paralympics witnesses the participation of over 570 athletes from 49 nations, and competitions are held across six Winter Paralympic sports. This year’s Games will also offer the most number of gold medals in the history of the Paralympics with 80, eight more than at Sochi 2014. The Games will conclude on March 18. The Winter Paralympics are taking place at the same venues as the Winter Olympic Games, with most snow sports being held in PyeongChang, while alpine skiing events are contested in Jeongseon, 215 Km east of Seoul and all ice sports held in Gangneung, a coastal city in Gangwon Province.
This year, North Korea, along with Georgia and Tajikistan, is participating for the first time at a Paralympic Games. North Korea, which was granted an exceptional invitation by the International Paralympic Committee to take part in the Games, has two athletes in cross-country skiing. North Korea’s participation at the Paralympics marks a wider rapprochement and cooling of tension on the Korean Peninsula.
The Winter Paralympics follows the successfully concluded 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, which came to a close on February 25. Korea hopes that these second Olympic Games to be held in the country will provide the momentum to accelerate peace and stability not only on the Korean peninsula, but in Northeast Asia and around the world.
At the same time, Korea believes that the PyeongChang 2018 Games will be an excellent opportunity to further promote Olympic values in Asia, while creating a new legacy for winter sports across the region.
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