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| Location | Sochi, Russia |
|---|---|
| Motto | Hot. Cool. Yours. (Russian: Жаркие. Зимние. Твои.) |
| Nations | 45 |
| Athletes | 550 |
| Events | 72 in 5 sports |
| Opening | 7 March |
| Closing | 16 March |
| Opened by | |
| Cauldron | |
| Stadium | Fisht Olympic Stadium |
Winter Summer
2014 Winter Olympics | |
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| Part of a series on |
| 2014 Winter Paralympics |
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The 2014 Winter Paralympics (Russian: Зимние Паралимпийские игры 2014, romanized: Zimniye Paralimpiyskiye igry 2014), the 11th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, were an international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), held in Sochi, Russia, from 7 to 16 March 2014. 45 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) participated in the Games, which marked the first time Russia ever hosted the Paralympics. The Games featured 72 medal events in five sports, and saw the debut of snowboarding at the Winter Paralympics.[1]
The lead-up to these Paralympics were met with concerns regarding Russia's military intervention in the nearby Crimean peninsula of Ukraine the month before the opening of the games. The head of Ukraine's NPC stated that it would pull its athletes if the situation escalated, while the United Kingdom and United States chose not to send governmental delegations to the Games. The crisis ultimately had no impact on athlete participation, but members of the Ukrainian team did stage symbolic protests of the crisis during the Games (including most notably, all but the country's flagbearer sitting out of the opening ceremony's parade of nations).
With 80 medals, 30 of them being gold, the host country of Russia won the most medals during these Games, and set a record for the most medals won by a single country during a single Winter Paralympic Games. Additionally, Russian skier Roman Petushkov won the most individual gold medals in Winter Paralympic history, with six golds across skiing and biathlon events.[2] However, following the Games, the IPC discovered evidence that Russia's performance had been aided by a wider state-sponsored doping program. This resulted in restrictions on the participation of Russian athletes during subsequent Paralympics.
- ^ "Para-Snowboard secures Paralympic Games inclusion". BBC Sport. 2 May 2012. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
- ^ "Sochi Paralympics: Roman Petushkov sets golds record". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 19 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.