Top six stories of the week – 23-29 November
New mascots, world titles, major announcements and awards all feature in this week’s top six stories. 29 Nov 2014
Best friends: The Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic mascots were born out of an explosion of joy
As we gear up for the final month of the year, the number of sporting events may be diminishing, but the amount of para-sport news certainly is not. Here are this week’s top six stories from around the globe.
Rio 2016 launches Paralympic mascot
After the unveiling of the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games mascots, the public have been asked to name them via a special website before 14 December.
Inspired by Brazil’s fauna and flora, the duo feature various pop culture influences, along with elements of animation and computer game characters.
Brazil claim fourth world title
After going undefeated all tournament, Brazil claimed their fourth IBSA Blind Football World Championships title with a 1-0 victory over Argentina.
In a repeat of the 2006 final, extra time was needed to separate the only two teams to ever win the title.
IPC Athletics Grand Prix to visit five continents
In 2015 there will be 10 IPC Athletics Grand Prix events with meetings taking place in all five continents for the first time thanks to Brisbane, Australia, hosting an event in March.
The series will start in February with a meeting in Dubai, UAE, and will climax in July with a finals event at a venue which will be announced in the near future.
- More about the 2015 IPC Athletics Grand Prix season
IPC President named “Innovator of the Year”
Sir Philip Craven, the President of the IPC, has been named “Innovator of the Year” by SportsBusiness International.
The prestigious annual rankings recognise the men and women in the sports industry who have been the biggest game-changers in the last 12 months.
- More about Sir Philip's award
Alpine Skiing Ones to Watch announced
To mark 100 days to go until the 2015 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships take place in Panorama, Canada, IPC Alpine Skiing has revealed a list of 19 athletes to watch for the 2014-15 season.
The complete list of athletes have 36 Paralympic and 47 world titles between them.
- Find out who made the Ones to Watch list
IPC’s Top 50 Moments continue
To mark the last 50 days of 2014, the IPC is counting down its top 50 moments of the year. Exclusive interviews, images and pictures of the various moments can be found at a special microsite.