Beijing’s winter Paralympic Games has closed following a ban on Russian and Belarusian competitors – and after stellar performances from athletes from host nation China and from war-torn Ukraine.
At the “Bird’s Nest” stadium in the capital on Sunday, China handed the Paralympics flag to Italy’s Milano Cortina, which is gearing up to stage the games in four years.
Beijing is the first city to host both the summer and winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, and there are hopes this year’s event will leave a legacy of better accessibility and rights for 85 million Chinese with disabilities.
Controversy concerning whether athletes from Russia and ally Belarus should be allowed to compete overshadowed the lead-up to the games.
The International Olympic Committee (IPC) had urged sporting federations across the world to exclude athletes from those nations.
The IPC initially said it would allow them to compete as neutrals, but after threats of boycotts from other competitors and tensions rising in the athletes’ village, organisers banned them.
After an arduous journey to the Chinese capital, Ukraine’s athletes came a remarkable second to China in the medals table after their best performance in a winter Paralympics.
One athlete learned her soldier father had been taken prisoner by Russian troops during the games while another won a gold medal after discovering her home in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv had been bombed.
