PARALYMPIC AND PARA SPORTS NEWS
![Athletes raise and wave French flags on stage as audience members clap.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2022-09/Paris%202024%20athletes%20return.jpg?h=9c4f91a7&itok=Q5TUk_MG)
Paris 2024 opens applications for volunteer programme
The volunteer application period opens on Wednesday, 22 March and closes on 3 May 2023, and is open to applicants from around the world
![Two female wheelchair rugby players compete](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2023-03/Women%27s%20Cup%20wheelchair%20rugby%202023.jpg?h=aa5be3fb&itok=EzXCQXb_)
Female players take spotlight in wheelchair rugby
The 2022 Wheelchair Rugby World Championship featured a record number of female athletes. This month, an international women’s tournament saw more than 40 athletes from 10 countries, opening a new chapter in the sport
![Sixteen-year-old William Ellard smashed his personal best in the men’s 100m freestyle S14 race for his first-ever World Series gold medal.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2023-03/William%20Ellard%206%20%282%29.jpg?itok=RKzNHxRp)
World Series 2023: Great Britain, Brazil dominate in Sheffield
Gomes Santiago and Araujo set two world records* each as Brazil and the hosts collect 15 out of 24 golds in the third leg of Citi Para Swimming World Series
![Six members of the Classification Compliance and Oversight Committee pose for a photo on the steps of an office building.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2023-03/Classification%20CCOC%202023.jpeg?h=81dceb8e&itok=pUpkcsgt)
Inaugural Classification Compliance and Oversight Committee plans for the future
New chairperson is intellectual impairment specialist Professor Jan Burns, who praised the work of former Classification Committee chair Anne Hart
![Two male athletes posing for a photograph.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2023-03/CAN%20Nate%20Reich%2C%20NOR%20Skjalg%20Kongssund.jpg?h=c0eda473&itok=TLtbCQpk)
Paralympic champion Riech meets and races Kongssund, a teenage runner he inspired
Nate Riech received a message four years ago from 13-year-old Skjalg Kongssund, an aspiring Para runner from Norway. This month, at the Dubai 2023 World Para Athletics Grand Prix, they competed in the same race and even shared the podium
![Five African athletes train, doing upward kicks, on an indoor track.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2023-03/Amos%20Ahiagah%20training%20Ghana%20Malawi.jpg?h=7d06175b&itok=_JpftVOm)
Ghana's Amos Ahiagah running, cutting hair and making brother's dreams come true
The 19-year-old balances a life of training and working in a barbershop in the hopes of making his siblings and country proud
![A female swimmer smiling from inside the pool](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2023-03/GettyImages-1402925919.jpg?h=c3503577&itok=waJ7IKzZ)
World Series lands in Great Britain for major test ahead of Worlds
Sheffield hosts 311 athletes from 36 countries from Thursday to Sunday only 64km away from the home of this year's World Championships
![A woman in a wheelchair passes the Paralympic Flame through a torch to another woman, also holding a torch.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2023-03/Sue%20Masham%20Eva%20Loeffler.jpeg?h=9798a91d&itok=sCP6kI0w)
IPC saddened by the passing of British Paralympic pioneer Sue Masham
The British Paralympian Baroness Sue Masham of Ilton spent a lifetime improving the lives of people with disabilities and was a champion, campaigner, and ambassador for disability rights
![A banner of the Manchester 2023 Para Swimming World Championships and its sponsor Citi](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2023-03/Official%20Partner_1920x1080_citi_Draft%2002%5B49%5D%5B66%5D%5B17%5D.jpg?itok=HfvscH-n)
Citi announced as sponsor of Manchester 2023 Worlds
Biggest Para swimming event outside of the Paralympics, Worlds will take place at newly refurbished Manchester Aquatics Centre from 31 July to 6 August
![A smiling male athlete holds up a silver medal and bouquet of flowers during a medal ceremony.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2023-03/Jeroen%20Kampschreur%20podium%20Beijing%202022.jpg?h=1e143bb3&itok=P7MfeN5t)
Kampschreur aiming to stand on more Paralympic podiums after special walk in Beijing
Painful second-place finish at Beijing 2022 topped by memorable medal ceremony: 'I made a promise to myself – and I spread it so I would have to do it – that if I reached the podium, I was going to walk on the podium just to prove that I can do it'
![An armless man putting his tongue out of his mouth in celebration next to a swimming pool](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2023-03/Gabriel%20Araujo_Lignano%20World%20Series.jpg?h=32fcb157&itok=we8nopQX)
World Series 2023: Araujo leads Brazil to the top in Lignano
Second Citi Para Swimming World Series of the season sees 10 new world records* set in four days of competition in Italy
Beijing 2022 one year on: Chinese medallists remember golden moments
The Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games were held between 4 and 13 March 2022 and featured more than 550 Para athletes. Hosts China topped the medals standings with 61 medals – 18 gold, 20 silver and 23 bronze
![Hosts Morocco topped the overall medals table at the Marrakech GP that was attended by 441 athletes from across 46 nations.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2023-03/Morocco.jpg?itok=U02OyznP)
Hosts shine bright at Marrakech Grand Prix
Morocco made it a memorable three days at home, Brazil's Gomes and Nigeria’s Nwachukwu set new world records* at the third GP of 2023
![A male Para ice hockey player holds up a sledge hockey stick with his right hand and carries the Republic of Korea flag.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2023-03/Republic%20of%20Korea%20Para%20ice%20hockey%20player%20Min-Su%20Han.jpg?itok=0WlNcEgT)
PyeongChang 2018 five years on: Han reflects on best moments of competing at home
Han Min-Su was captain of the Republic of Korea’s Para ice hockey team that won the bronze medal at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. He also captured the spotlight at the Opening Ceremony as one of the final torchbearers
![New IPC logo symbol](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2019-12/IPC%20logo.jpg?itok=Tz9hXgsX)
IPC ranked sixth most creative brand in the WARC Rankings 2023
Marketing industry leaders recognise the International Paralympic Committee's successful campaigns and record digital growth
![A young female without legs sits on a skateboard while wearing sports gear.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2023-03/Kanya%20Sesser%20pipe.jpg?h=afdbc6f3&itok=vR_lIEW9)
Meet the female athletes and trailblazers making the fashion industry more inclusive
Para athletes like Robyn Lambird, Frances Rivera and Kanya Sesser are embracing their bodies and leading the revolution to make the fashion industry more inclusive for people with disabilities
![Italian Paralympic star Simone Barlaam will lead the local challenge that will have a 65-strong team at the second leg of Citi Para Swimming World Series.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2023-03/Simone%20Barlaam.jpg?itok=eZHjUjiQ)
Barlaam celebrates World Series' return to 'magical' Lignano
Paralympic stars in limelight as season’s second leg of World series set to witness 292 athletes from 43 nations over four days of action
![Two female wheelchair rugby players compete.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2023-03/1%20Wheelchair%20rugby%20women.jpg?itok=yQpf9Sga)
Loughborough to start research to increase female participation in wheelchair rugby
Loughborough University in Great Britain is set to conduct a research project to evaluate the current competition rule, with the first findings of the study to be published towards the end of the third quarter of 2023
![Seven female Para ice hockey players on ice in front of a goalie](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2022-11/Green%20Bay%202022.jpg?h=76114fb1&itok=cKBrDjRJ)
World Para Ice Hockey receives IPC International Women's Day Recognition award
Announcement follows landmark year in the development of the sport among female athletes, coaches, and officials with the first Women's World Challenge
![A woman in a wheelchair with a green Nigerian shirt](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2023-03/49515828223_82f90b2b81_c.jpg?itok=EKEov8xj)
Nigeria's Coach Pat receives IPC International Women's Day award
Patience Igbiti has been a key driver pushing women’s inclusion in the sport in Africa and internationally for over 30 years