PARALYMPIC AND PARA SPORTS NEWS
![Steve Cash](/sites/default/files/images/140220170523090_Cash2.jpg)
8 for 8: USA preview
The Americans enter the Sochi 2014 Paralympic ice sledge hockey competition as one of the teams favoured to make the podium.
![Terezinha Guilhermina and her guide run on the track of Lyon with the tribunes of the stadium in the backround](/sites/default/files/images/130725194831328_9351538047_2645de4a92_z.jpg)
Hug and Guilhermina to headline first IPC Athletics Grand Prix of 2014
A number of World and Paralympic champions including Brazil’s Terezinha Guilhermina and Switzerland’s Marcel Hug will be amongst the 490 athletes taking part in the first IPC Athletics Grand Prix of the season which starts on Saturday (22 February) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
![Bibian Mentel-Spee](/sites/default/files/images/130122172140085_2%2BCREDIT%2BBibian%2BMentel.jpg)
Netherlands name seven athletes for Sochi 2014 Paralympics
Four of the seven Dutch athletes headed to Sochi will compete in snowboard, a discipline set to make its Paralympic debut.
![Paul Rosen](/sites/default/files/images/140220100828986_97884464_0.jpg)
Canada preparing for Paralympic Schools Week
Between the end of the Olympics and start of the Paralympics, top Canadian athletes will visit and speak to schools across Canada.
![Mariann Marthinsen](/sites/default/files/images/140217103147988_ob.jpg)
Norway’s Mariann Marthinsen on track for gold
Nordic skier Mariann Marthinsen is aiming to follow on from fellow national greats at Sochi 2014 by winning her first Paralympic gold at her fifth winter and summer Games, to continue her current stunning form in cross-country skiing.
![ISSF and IPC meeting February 2014](/sites/default/files/images/140220115116461_ISSF_0.jpg)
Parties meet to discuss para-clay target shooting
Representatives of the IPC, ISSF and Italian Shotgun Shooting Federation met to discuss the potential for para-clay target shooting to become an IPC Shooting recognised discipline.
Switzerland: Eight facts for Sochi 2014 Paralympics
The Swiss delegation typically fields their strongest Paralympic Winter Games teams in alpine skiing.
![Markus Salcher](/sites/default/files/images/140211153104126_IPC_Alpine_Ski_WorldChampionships_LaMolina_Downhill_00027_0.jpg)
Austria announce 13 athletes for Sochi 2014 Paralympics
The Austrians will be led by standing skiers Matthias Lanzinger and Markus Salcher, along with sit skier Claudia Loesch.
![Gianmaria Dal Maistro at Vancouver 2010](/sites/default/files/images/140219101903021_97866774_0.jpg)
Italy: 10 facts on the Sochi 2014 Paralympics
With a strong contingent of alpine skiers headed to Sochi, can Italy add to their total of 61 medals at the Paralympic Winter Games?
![Screenshot twitter page Niklas Ingvarsson](/sites/default/files/images/140219144904303_Presentation1_0.jpg)
Sochi 2014: 14 athletes to follow on Twitter
With the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games fast approaching, here’s a list of the top 14 athletes to follow on Twitter.
![Jessica Long](/sites/default/files/images/140219132403053_1510754401_0.jpg)
NBC to feature ‘The Jessica Long Story’
An NBC Olympics production crew accompanied the American Paralympic champion to Russia to meet her birth family.
![Aileen Neilson](/sites/default/files/images/140219142346265_curling%2B1_0.jpg)
Sochi 2014 will be ‘shop window’ for wheelchair curling
British Curling are hoping the exposure from the Sochi 2014 Paralympics help further develop their programme.
![Amy Purdy 2013](/sites/default/files/images/131009135909169_Amy%2BPurdy.jpg)
NBC announces Sochi 2014 Paralympics schedule
Find out when you can watch your favourite sports and American athletes on NBC and NBCSN from 7-16 March.
![Mikhalina Lysova](/sites/default/files/images/140218110512088_26_01_Oberried_Nordic_Biathlon_WC_2014_00719_WATERMARK_0.jpg)
Russia sending 67 athletes to Sochi 2014 Paralympics
The strongest medal hopefuls for the host nation lie in Nordic skiing and ice sledge hockey.
!['Shayba' Arena in Sochi](/sites/default/files/images/140113145530907_shayba_0.jpg)
Sochi 2014 Paralympic Reporter project selects winners
The “Sochi 2014 Paralympic Reporter” international competition will bring 14 writers from Russia, Germany and Great Britain to Sochi for the Games.
![Norway's nordic skier Ragnhild Myklebust at the 2002 Salt Lake City Paralympic Winter Games](/sites/default/files/images/140218101938415_getty.jpg)
Norway: 10 facts on the Sochi 2014 Paralympics
When it comes to the Paralympic Winter Games, Norway have arguably had the most success of any country.
![Carl Murphy](/sites/default/files/images/121031180502900_Carl%2BMurphy%2BCREDIT%2BGetty.jpg)
New Zealand: Seven facts on the Sochi 2014 Paralympics
New Zealand has won 27 medals at the Paralympic Winter Games (G15-S5-B7). It has won 195 medals in Paralympic Games and Paralympic Winter Games combined (G80-S57-B58).
![Watch the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games LIVE](/sites/default/files/styles/video_crop_16_9/public/oembed_thumbnails/jhbmw8DtRJZp3C6QcUSpIRVvcBsAzkOlgA4S8DZ6Xl0.jpg?itok=D2BFtGTz)
Watch: Sochi 2014 Paralympics livestream trailer
More than 300 hours of live uninterrupted coverage will be shown on the IPC’s website during the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.
![Rico Roman](/sites/default/files/images/140217130404908__AMM7206_0.jpg)
Five things to know: USA's sledge hockey team
Will the Americans become the first ice sledge hockey team to repeat as Paralympic champions?
![Jason Maroney built his own rifle range with a world class electronic target machine in his shed](/sites/default/files/images/140217103357206_4_0.jpg)
Jason Maroney: Project build-me-a-shooting-range
Australian shooter is making big changes to his training set-up ahead of the 2014 World Championships, as well as adjusting to life in a new chair, which at times can lead to unexpected consequences.