When the Olympics end, the Paralympics are about to begin. A 13-person team represents Finland in the Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympics.
The Games include 80 events in six sports, providing ample viewing for all the sports junkies sitting at home in front of their screens: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, ice hockey, snowboard and wheelchair curling. The Winter Paralympics are growing in popularity, with 670 athletes competing in Pyeongchang, compared to 539 in Sochi. The amount of female athletes has increased 44 percent over Sochi.
Finland’s greatest medal hopes are Ilkka Tuomisto, who won silver in the men’s standing cross-country skiing 20-kilometre event at Sochi in 2014, and Matti Suur-Hamari, who won the 2017 World Para Snowboard Championship in snowcross and banked slalom. [Editor’s note: Suur-Hamari did indeed take gold in the snowcross LL2 classification, as well as bronze in the banked slalom LL2, and Ilkka Tuomisto won bronze in the 1.5-kilometre cross-country event Sprint Classic, Standing.]
Get a brief intro to the speed and excitement of the sports that make up the Winter Paralympics.
Video: Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Games
By ThisisFINLAND staff
