PARALYMPIC AND PARA SPORTS NEWS
![An ice sledge hockey player skates up to his teammate to celebrate.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2023-08/140528143736474_Ice%2Bsledge%2Bhockey%2BJosh%2BSweeney%2BCREDIT%2BGetty%2BImages_0.jpg?itok=rmncJHzF)
USA’s Sweeney to make Paralympic return
Josh Sweeney retired after winning gold with the USA Para Ice Hockey team at Sochi 2014
![Fireworks can be seen from the inside surrounding the Birds Nest Stadium](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2022-03/Fireworks%20at%20Opening%20Ceremony%20of%20Beijing%202022.jpg?h=b6d16b45&itok=oFjl_6b5)
Sport and athletes the winners as Beijing Games get underway
'The 21st Century is a time for dialogue and diplomacy, not war and hate. The Olympic Truce for peace during the Olympic and Paralympic Games is a UN Resolution adopted by consensus by 193 Member States at the 76th UN General Assembly. It must be respected and observed not violated.'
![Oksana Masters](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2022-02/Oksana.jpg?itok=wuc4R4Vl)
Record number of female Para athletes set for Winter Paralympics
Games will feature 564 Para athletes from 46 countries competing across six sports
![A general View outside the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest and Yangshan River.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2022-02/Stadium%20Bird%27s%20Nest_0.jpg?itok=Y3fNlX2H)
Paralympic Games set to go digital
'For Beijing 2022, we are enabling everyone from athletes to TV viewers to become Paralympic creators with Gifs, stickers and frames that they can use in their own content'
![Andrew Parsons is pictured on a large screen at the Opening Ceremony of Beijing 2022 alongside a sentence of his speech which reads: 'tonight I want to begin with a message of peace'](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2022-03/Andrew%20Parsons%20Beijing%202022%20Opening%20Ceremony.jpg?h=4982b57e&itok=spOLXSrO)
IPC President Andrew Parsons' Beijing 2022 Opening Ceremony speech
Full text of Andrew Parsons' Opening Ceremony address
![A male player on a sledge kicks the puck with a stick.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2022-03/rsz_1gettyimages-932181530.jpg?itok=FtHYd_cw)
Canada faces USA ready to move away from haunting past
Three games kick off the Paralympic tournament on Saturday (5 March) with hosts China and Slovakia making their Games debut
![A Para Alpine sit-skier makes their way down the course during training in the shadow of the trees](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2022-03/Para%20alpine%20skiing%20at%20Beijing%202022.jpg?h=b3ce6901&itok=kh4YB9w3)
Echoes of 2008 to be heard at Beijing 2022
Beijing 2008 proved to have a transformative effect and now China will welcome over 560 athletes for the Winter Paralympics
![a female Para Nordic skier on the snow](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/images/171205122854529_Birgit%2BSkarstein%2Bski.jpg?itok=Mt2uKkq5)
Tokyo 2020 champion Birgit Skarstein is back on the snow
Norwegian shares love of dancing is key to alternating between Para Rowing and Para Cross-Country Skiing
![Flag bearer Sin Eui Hyun of South Korea leads the team during the Opening Ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2022-03/PyeongChang%202018%20Opening%20Ceremony%201.jpg?h=674b2f43&itok=IEWKmaxh)
Down memory lane: PyeongChang 2018, the biggest Games
PyeongChang 2018 Games broke all international broadcast and online viewing records, attracting more broadcasters and viewers than ever before for a Paralympic Winter Games outside of the host country