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4-7 September

PARALYMPIC AND PARA SPORTS NEWS

Breaking down barriers - Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games

The top 50 countdown which started on 12 November concludes with Sochi 2014 chosen as the IPC’s number one moment.

A yellow mascots and blue mascot with green leaves as hair stand on top of Rio's Sugar Loaf mountain.
Sochi 2014

To mark the last day of the year, here are 25 fun, serious and interesting things we learned around the Paralympic Movement in 2014.

No. 2 NBC broadcast ice sledge hockey gold medal match
Sochi 2014

After years of campaigning for more TV coverage in the US, NBC showed over 50 hours from the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.

Ihor Reptyukh
Cross-Country Skiing

The Ukrainian world champion Nordic skier believes that everything is in place for him to top the podium at the 2015 IPC Nordic Skiing World Championships.

Sarah Storey
Cycling

In 2014 there were two World Championships, World Cups and many great achievements in para-cycling.

Man and women kissing, a black horse stands next to them.
Equestrian

Philippa Johnson-Dwyer and James Dwyer finally got married this year, 12 years after first bumping into each other on horseback.

Empty image

The Paralympic Movement’s global governing body turned 25 in 2014 and celebrated with a special event in Berlin, Germany

Zahra Nemati won gold at London 2012
Archery

Ahead of 2015, a year that will feature the World Archery Para Championships, here are five rivalries that could light up the year.

Italian woman celebrates on a horse
Equestrian

2014, the Chinese Year of the Horse, was a great year for para-equestrian dressage, both in and out of the arena.

Ellie Cole, Natalie Du Toit
Swimming

Australian multiple Paralympic champion Ellie Cole is on a come-back from injury and aims to be back on form for Glasgow 2015.

Man doing powerlifting on a bench
Powerlifting

To end 2014, we focus on seven huge lifts that had us all talking during the season.

Veronika Vadovicova 2014
Shooting

After a packed season which featured a World Championships, Asian Para Games and World Cups, find out who is topping the rankings and why.

Two skiers behind each other on the slope
Alpine Skiing

Markus Walser, Chairperson of the IPC Alpine Skiing Sport Technical Committee, conducted a site visit for the alpine skiing World Championships.

Matti Suur-Hamari
Snowboard

Finnish lower-limb impaired rider Suur-Hamari offers his training advice to aspiring snowboarders.

No. 6 Australia crowned wheelchair rugby champions for the first time
Wheelchair Rugby

After gold at London 2012, the Australian wheelchair rugby team are now world champions after success in Denmark.

Fact of the week - Para-snowboard
Snowboard

In 2012 it was announced that para-snowboard would be included in the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.

No. 7 Ukraine compete at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games
Sochi 2014

Despite huge political tensions, Ukraine stayed to compete in what they described as “the most tragic Paralympic Games in the history of Paralympic sport in Ukraine”.

Beatrice Vio
Wheelchair Fencing

There were few surprises as the year’s in-form athletes took titles at the final event of the year – the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Grand Prix in Hong Kong.

David Wagner
Wheelchair Tennis

American and Japanese duo finish 2014 atop the wheelchair tennis world rankings.

Marguerite Christophers has been appointed Paralympics New Zealand Classificiation Manager from 1 January 2015.
New Zealand

In response to dramatic growth of High Performance Programme, PNZ has appointed Marguerite Christophers