PARALYMPIC AND PARA SPORTS NEWS
![Three athletes hugging each other on the podium while posing for a photo.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-12/Recap%202021.jpg?h=539f437e&itok=X9ZZ4SXH)
2021 recap: New forces emerge on the biggest stage
With the Paralympic Games and World Championships taking place in the same year, many new countries shine on the podium for the first time
![Team United States celebrate victory after winning the Women's Sitting Volleyball gold match against China at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-09/GettyImages-1338385239_0.jpg?h=c43b5a06&itok=Hb_K7jwr)
United States led the charge for Americas
Finish third in the overall medal tally with 104 medals - 37 gold, 36 silver, and 31 bronze
European athletes receive leadership training
Proud Paralympian workshop held online in early December
![New IPC logo symbol](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2019-12/IPC%20logo.jpg?itok=Tz9hXgsX)
IPC begins search for independent Nominations Panel members
Two new members to assist in the appointment of non-executive directors to IPC bodies
![A female Para snowboarder riding on the snow with floodlights in the background](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-12/2021-12-11-Pyha-ParaSBX-Morning.jpg?itok=lYjYQsRO)
Tschopp blazing trail for Switzerland in Hochfuegen
Austria caps off 2021 with banked slalom races at the last Para snowboard event before January's World Championships in Lillehammer
![A male sit skier in a cross-country skiing competition](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-12/VS-PARA_EUROPA_CUP-THURSDAY-9825-A.jpg?h=2c857cf6&itok=_ZomTM71)
Athletes eager to make history for their nations in Vuokatti
Qualification on the line as skiers head into last competition before World Championships, including newcomers from Azerbaijan and Iceland
![A female skier on a ski slope](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-12/IMG_0171.jpg?itok=Pa2lewKr)
Bochet heading into races with rediscovered joie de vivre
St. Moritz World Cup to be last test for French skiers and more than 130 athletes from 30 countries ahead of January’s World Championships
![World Anti Doping Agency's Logo.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/images/120113112310550_World_Anti_Doping_Agency_PlayTrue_200dpi.jpg?itok=x1QGWdFe)
WADA’s 2022 prohibited list comes into force on 1 Jan 2022
Agency calls on athletes, entourage, and all stakeholders to note major modifications concerning the use of salbutamol and injectable glucocorticoids
![2021 Paralympic Sports Awards 🏆 | Paralympic Games](/sites/default/files/styles/video_crop_16_9/public/oembed_thumbnails/VXOOtEogpWbulXfdoUpN6kvJT1vhY55dhiaxUUUFAWU.jpg?itok=HRIObCgr)
De Groot and Hug among 2021 Paralympic Sport Award winners
Athletes, teams and officials recognised for their achievements at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
![Participants and instructors of the athlete development workshop in Ghana](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-12/Ghana-workshop.jpg?h=4c4f76df&itok=EWRy6_RL)
Ghana holds workshop for athlete development
Para sport continues to develop in Sub Saharan Africa thanks to AT2030’s Para Sport Against Stigma project
![A female swimming in a pool with the logo of World Para Swimming on the background](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-12/20210410_BPSIM_F-30130.jpg?itok=pZINhvDC)
Aberdeen to host World Series for first time in 2022
Best Para swimmers from across the globe to compete in Great Britain for a fifth time since the World Para Swimming series’ inception in 2017
![A man in a wheelchair with the uniform of Japan on a podium at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-12/GettyImages-1336843270%20%281%29.jpg?h=6f5f4b47&itok=RB53Rkfy)
Suzuki: 'People's perception of Para sports improved after Tokyo'
Japanese Para swimmer who took his country's first Paralympic gold medal reflects on the impact of the home Games 100 days after the Closing Ceremony
![A photo collage with a female Para alpine skier, a male Para snowboarder and a female Para cross-country skier](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-12/preview_9719551b944bdcf9c184dd1c572a4f60_collage.jpg?itok=dy6bKat6)
Top 10 athletes to watch at January's World Championships
Some of the biggest names from Para alpine skiing, Para Nordic skiing and Para snowboard worth keeping an eye in Norway next month
![Two Para ice hockey players with a referee in the middle](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-12/C07O5027.jpg?itok=GRyRnXj1)
Sport development continues with camp in Ostrava
Fifteen participants including coaches from Hungary and Latvia take part in introductory sessions in the host city of the last two World Championships
![ALL FOR GOLD: Reigning Paralympic champion Guljonoy Naimova of Uzbekistan in action against Amy Truesdale of Great Britain.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-12/Guljonoy%20Naimova%201.jpg?h=1fa18f55&itok=lxAy5DNi)
World crown for Naimova, Iranian Hurricane Pourrahanama bags fifth title
'I’m satisfied I got my revenge – the Prince of Persia is back!'
![A woman competing in a Para cross-country race under snow](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-12/Oksana%20Masters-Canmore.jpg?h=de2cbfe1&itok=1yHjSgMV)
Masters transitions back to winter with four gold in Canmore
Brittany Hudak takes Canada’s golden tally at home World Cup to eight as biathlon sprint and middle-distance events wrap up season-opener competition
![Athelets](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-12/athelete_final.png?h=9783ec92&itok=_UvPYFON)
Version 2 of the Beijing 2022 Playbooks published
“Together with the IPC and Beijing 2022, we have worked closely with the world's leading experts in health and sports event delivery to finalise and put in place the necessary COVID-19 countermeasures that will enable the Games to take place safely and successfully.”
![A male Para snowboarder crossing the finish line ahead of other two athletes](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-12/Matti%20Suur-Hamari%20Pyha21.jpg?itok=aZIFwQz0)
Suur-Hamari delivers gold at home World Cup
Challenging course yields plenty of crashes and comebacks at Pyha’s three-day SBX competition as few athletes secure double wins in Finland
![IPC President Andrew Parsons](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-12/Andrew%20Parsons%203_0.jpg?h=95646578&itok=p4vwynLh)
Andrew Parsons re-elected as IPC President for second term
Vice President Kale also re-elected as IPC members choose new IPC Governing Board
![New IPC logo symbol](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2019-12/IPC%20logo.jpg?itok=Tz9hXgsX)
IPC members approve new constitution at General Assembly
'I would like to thank the whole IPC membership for contributing towards the governance review and consultation process for nearly three years and approving it by an overwhelming majority'