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Nordic Skiing
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| Photo by Donald Miralle (Getty Images) |
Cross country events have been a part of the Paralympic Winter Games since the sport was first introduced at the Ornskjoldsvik (Sweden) Games in 1976. Biathlon has been a part of the Paralympic Winter Games since 1992 in Tignes, France, where only the visually impaired and the standing classes competed. At Lillehammer in 1994, the sitting classes also participated. Biathletes compete using the freestyle technique.
Cross country races range from 2.5 km to 20 km depending on disability and gender.
Biathlon combines elements of cross country skiing and sharp shooting. Athletes ski three 2.5 km loops (7.5 km total), stopping after the first two loops to shoot at five targets (10 targets total). One minute is added to the athlete’s finishing time for each miss. Paralympic nordic skiing competition is open to male and female athletes in the categories for amputees, blind/visually impaired, spinal cord injured/wheelchair and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke. For additional information on eligibility, click on the Classification link on the left side of this page.
For more information on disabled nordic skiing, please visit:
The U.S. Ski Team's disabled team page - click here
Disabled Sport USA's winter sports page - http://www.dsusa.org/winter.html
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