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Paralympic Sports |
The Paralympic sports hosted in Whistler are Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Cross-Country Skiing.
Following the end of the Second World War, there was a systematic development of ski sport for persons with a disability, as injured ex-servicemen returned to the sports they loved. In 1948, the first courses for skiers with a disability were offered. Up to the 1970s, these races were limited to skiers who could stand, or had a visual impairment. The invention of the mono-ski – a seat fixed on single ski – opened the sport to athletes who could not stand to ski. Mono-skis are equipped with short outriggers (forearm crutches with shortened skis attached at the base for balance and steering).
Slalom and giant slalom were introduced at the first Paralympics Winter Games in Örnsköldsvik in 1976. Downhill was added to the Paralympic Games in 1984 in Innsbruck, and Super-G was added in 1994 at Lillehammer. Mono-skiing became a medal event at the Nagano 1998 Paralympic Games.
How It Works
In Paralympic alpine skiing, racers can reach speeds of more than 100 kilometres an hour, traveling down a vertical drop that ranges from 120 to 800 metres. The vertical drop is made even more difficult by a series of gates the skiers must twist and turn to pass through. In alpine skiing, athletes are classified as standing, sitting or visually impaired and compete against other athletes with a similar disability. Skiers with a visual impairment use the same equipment as able-bodied skiers, but ski with a guide. Skiers with locomotive disabilities may either use the same equipment as able-bodied skiers or a prosthesis (an artificial arm or leg) and stabilizers in place of ski poles (stabilizers are a type of crutch with a small ski at the end). Sitting skiers use a mono-ski.
Alpine events for men and women are Downhill, Slalom, Giant slalom and Super G.
Biathlon was first included in the 1994 Paralympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway. The shooting system has changed considerably since then when, at the 2002 Paralympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, a new electronic and acoustic system was developed. In both biathlon and cross-country skiing, athletes are categorized as standing, sitting or visually impaired and compete against athletes with similar disabilities. Visually impaired skiers use the same equipment as able-bodied skiers but ski with a guide. Standing skiers are skiers with a locomotive disability and who are able to use the same equipment as able-bodied skiers. Sit-skiers usually have no use of their legs (paraplegic) and use a special made sit-ski (a specially built chair attached to a pair of skis).
How It Works
Biathlon combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting similar to the Olympic biathlon competitions. Paralympic athletes, however, always shoot in a prone position. In the short distance biathlon, skiers race a 2.5-kilometre loop three times stopping twice at the shooting range where they take five shots at a metal target 10 metres away. Each target has five plates, fixed in a straight row, which the athlete must hit the middle (bull's eye) of. The bull's eye is 15 mm in diameter and if a competitor misses a plate, they must ski a 150 m penalty loop for each missed shot. Visually impaired skiers use an acoustic system for shooting that uses differing tones as the rifle is aimed toward the bull's eye.
In long-distance biathlon, competitors ski the loop five times and stop four times at the shooting range. Missing a target plate can be costly: for every miss, a competitor receives a one minute time penalty that is added to their overall skiing time. Biathlon races comprise an interval start format with skiers starting every 30 seconds. The International Paralympic Committee utilizes a Nordic Percentage System in order to equalize the disability time handicap for skiers within each category. The percentage is applied to each skier's final time and the skier with the lowest calculated time is the winner.
Paralympic cross-country skiing was included as an event at the first Paralympic Winter Games in 1976, at Örnsköldsvik, with classical technique events only. Free technique was introduced in 1992 at Albertville.
In both biathlon and cross-country skiing, athletes are categorized as standing, sitting or visually impaired and compete against athletes with similar disabilities. Visually impaired skiers use the same equipment as able-bodied skiers but ski with a guide. Standing skiers are skiers with a locomotive disability and who are able to use the same equipment as able-bodied skiers. Sit-skiers usually have no use of their legs (paraplegic) and use a special made sit-ski (a specially built chair, called a sledge, attached to a pair of skis).
How It Works
Racers use two basic techniques in cross-country: classical, where the skis move parallel to each other through machine-groomed tracks in the snow, and free technique where skiers propel themselves in a manner similar to speed skating, pushing off with the edge of their skis. Free technique uses shorter skis and is slightly faster than classical – on average about 8% faster over an entire race distance. Sit-skiers are unable to alter their technique and use their arms and poles to propel themselves along the parallel tracks in which the skis from their sledges sit.
Paralympic cross-country skiers compete in men's and women's individual events over short, middle and long distances ranging from 2.5 kilometres to 20 kilometres. Each race has an interval start with skiers starting every 30 seconds. The International Paralympic Committee utilizes a Nordic Percentage System in order to equalize the disability time handicap for skiers within each category. The percentage is applied to each skier's final time and the skier with the lowest calculated time is the winner. In the relay event, each team member skis one leg. Teams are made up of skiers from different categories but with the total percentage for each team being equal. This means that no time calculation is required and the first team across the finish line wins.
