PARALYMPIC AND PARA SPORTS NEWS

Nadiia and Ivan Sivak win Athlete of the Month for December
Ukraine’s husband and wife team continue their success following a double world title at the 2013 IPC Wheelchair Dance Sport World Championships.

Marie Bochet sweeps board at alpine World Cup
Five-time world champion cannot be beaten at Copper Mountain resort, winning the second giant slalom event on the last day of competition and completing a clean-sweep.

Houdet-Reid matchup highlights Australian Open draw
Shingo Kunieda is unbeaten at the Australian Open since 2007, but up-and-coming Gordon Reid is poised for an upset on the big stage.

Canada name alpine skiers heading to Sochi
Mix of youth and experience aiming to finish in the top three nations at the Paralympic Winter Games in from 7 March.

Vladimir Putin meets with Sochi 2014 volunteers
Nearly 25,000 volunteers are expected to help out with the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

World’s best headline Rotterdam wheelchair tennis entries
Esther Vergeer will be tournament director for the World Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, which includes eight of the world’s top 10 men’s players.

Cross-country Nordic World Cup finals conclude
Last day of competitions sees Norway’s Mariann Marthinsen and Russians Stanislav Chokhlaev, Roman Petushkov, Elena Remizova, Rushan Minnegulov and Alena Kaufman crowned as overall cross-country World Cup winners.

Indonesia tops medals table at Asean Para Games
Indonesia pips Thailand to the post to finish first in the medals table for the first time at the Asean Para Games in Naypyitaw, Myanmar.

8 for 8: South Korea preview
Can an older, wiser South Korean ice sledge hockey team rise to the occasion in Sochi and become a top team before hosting the 2018 Paralympics?

Success for USA in alpine and snowboard World Cups
USA pick up five podiums in IPC Alpine Skiing and IPCAS Snowboard World Cups on home snow in Copper Mountain, Colorado, as well as multiple podiums for France, Russia, Canada and Great Britain.