A Recap of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games

posted on Mar 22 by Admin in the Disability News, Paralympics category

The 2010 Paralympics ended with an extremely impressive closing ceremony.  The closing events included wheelchair acrobatics, Inuit throat singing, Canadian singer Chantal Kreviazuk, Indian hoop dancers, and spectacular fireworks. Many of the dancers and participants in the closing ceremony performances were disabled.

Opening ceremonies for the Paralympics took place on Friday, March 12, 2010 following with 10 days full of great moments and triumphs. Paralympics sports include biathlon, wheelchair curling, ice sledge hockey, alpine skiing, and cross country skiing. Over 500 athletes from 44 different countries came out to participate in this year’s Paralympics Winter Games. These athletes train long and hard for years leading up these Paralympics Winter Games which include sports that are standing, sitting, and for the visually impaired.

Russia took home the most medals with a total of 38, Germany in second with 24 total, and Winter Games Host Canada came in third with 19 total. The United States did place fifth with a total of 13 medals.  Some of this year’s outstanding athletes were Canada’s Lauren Woolstencroft winning 5 gold medals, Henrieta Farkasova taking 3 gold medals back to Slovakia, Germany’s Gerd Schonfelder winnings 4 gold medals and 1 silver, and other German native Martin Braxenthaler winning 2 gold medals and 1 silver.

The ceremony ended taking down the Paralympics flag and passing it on to 2014′s Winter Games host Sochi, Russia. Spectators can’t wait to see how the 2014 Paralympics Winter games will top this year’s. Canada can now officially go back to just being Canada.