PARALYMPIC AND PARA SPORTS NEWS
![Portrait picture of a man showing his tongue.](/sites/default/files/images/160509124311662_Thomas%2BSchmidberger.jpg)
Thomas Schmidberger receives Allianz Athlete of the Month for December
The German table tennis player won the gold medal in the men’s class 3 singles and also in class 4-5 team events at the US Open.
US women’s wheelchair basketball announce new coaches
NWBA Hall of Famer and Four-time U.S. Paralympian Trooper Johnson Named 2017-2020 U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach.
![Collage with 22 sports images](/sites/default/files/images/170106154339766_22%2Bsports.jpg)
Ones to watch for 2017 for athletics and equestrian announced
40 track and field and seven equestrian athletes have been named as athletes to look out for in 2017.
![A smiling couple on a black and white picture](/sites/default/files/images/170112152920169_Ross-Sutton-Daphne-Ceeney.jpg)
Throwback Thursday: Australia’s Ross Sutton
Get to know the story of the first Australian Paralympic champion, who sealed archery gold in the men’s St. Nicholas round open at Rome 1960.
![Two men in wheelchairs on a tennis court](/sites/default/files/images/170112153426261_Djokovic%2BAlcott.jpg)
Novak Djokovic tries wheelchair tennis
Serbia’s tennis legend gave the Paralympic sport a try under the guidance of Australia’s Rio 2016 two-time wheelchair tennis champion Dylan Alcott.
![Claudia Loesch](/sites/default/files/images/151028103529820_Claudia%2BLoesch_getty.jpg)
Double wins for Loesch, Salcher, Marcoux, Knight
After weather conditions forced a change in the schedule, several athletes made it onto two downhill podiums in one day at the World Cup in Innerkrems, Austria.
![Female skier looks exhausted on the snow.](/sites/default/files/images/140617095112867_SOC_20140314_LP_0487_WEB.jpg)
New venue in Ukraine to stage second World Cup
Western Center will host the last World Cup before the Finsterau 2017 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships, from 13-20 January.
![Ukraine's Ihor Reptyukh was successful in the men's long distance biathlon standing at Cable 2015.](/sites/default/files/images/150130230836988_Ihor%2BReptyukh%2BCable%2B2015.jpg)
Reptyukh prepares for “most difficult route in Europe”
The Ukrainian biathlon Individual world champion hopes home advantage will count at the Western Center World Cup.
![Oleksandra Kononova of Ukraine](/sites/default/files/images/140314153251333_478581623_0.jpg)
A proud moment for Ukraine’s Kononova
The multiple world champion Nordic skier relishes her home World Cup debut and looks to the World Championships.
Ones to watch for 2017 for football 5 and wheelchair tennis announced
Seven football five and 11 wheelchair tennis players have been named as athletes to look out for in 2017.