2014 Winter Paralympics

Sochi

Location of Sochi on the eastern coast of the Black Sea in Europe.

Panoramic view of the Sochi Olympic Park

As with previous Paralympics, the 2014 Winter Paralympics used most of the same venues that were used by the Olympics, situated within the Sochi Olympic Park and the resort of Krasnaya Polyana.[1] Despite the IPC believing that Russia had "zero track record in terms of accessibility"—given that the Soviet Union passed on hosting the 1980 Summer Paralympics after claiming no disabled athletes lived in Russia, the venues were built to the IPC's standards, organizers were quick to fix some of the issues pointed out by officials during an audit of the venues in January 2014, and an IPC spokesperson stated that they were "confident and expect everything to be ready for Games time." Organizers and the IPC hoped that the Paralympics' legacy would make Sochi a role model for inclusive design throughout the country, and IPC president Philip Craven went as far as dubbing Sochi the first accessible city in Russia, commending the country's changed stance on disability since 1980.[5][6]

The Sochi Olympic Park was built by the Black Sea coast in the Imeretin Valley, about 4 km (2.5 miles) from Russia's border with Abkhazia.[7][8] The venues are clustered around a central water basin with a synchronized fountain, allowing all indoor venues to be within walking distance.[9][10] Off these, the venues used during the Paralympics included:

• Fisht Olympic Stadium – ceremonies (opening/closing) 40,000 spectators
• Shayba Arena – sledge hockey, 7,000 spectators
• Ice Cube Curling Center – wheelchair curling, 3,000 spectators

A sketch of the layout of Sochi Olympic Park.

• Laura Biathlon & Ski Complex – Biathlon, Cross-country skiing
• Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort – Alpine skiing
• Rosa Khutor Extreme Park – Snowboarding

2014 Winter Paralympics Mountain Cluster Venues (interactive map)

The opening ceremony of the Games were held at Fisht Olympic Stadium on 7 March 2014. Entitled "Breaking the Ice", the ceremony was themed around equality and "breaking" barriers, featuring ballet sequences set to music by notable Russian composers, and animated segments by Aleksandr Petrov based on the story of the firebird. In his opening speech, IPC president Philip Craven praised Russia for finally fulfilling its "dream" of hosting the Paralympics after previously passing on the opportunity in 1980. He called upon spectators to have a "barrier-free mind", stating that "the sport you witness here will change you. Not just for now, but forever." The Paralympic cauldron was jointly lit by Russian Paralympians Olesya Vladykina and Sergey Shilov.[13]

Athletes representing forty-five National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) competed at the 2014 Winter Paralympics, an increase of one NPC over 2010.

Brazil, Turkey and Uzbekistan made their Winter Paralympic debut in Sochi, while Hungary and South Africa, who participated in Vancouver, did not send any athletes.

Competitions in the 2014 Winter Paralympics were held in five Winter Paralympic sports, with 72 medal events in total. New for 2014 was the addition of snowboarding events, which were incorporated into the alpine skiing program.

• Alpine skiing (32) ()
• Biathlon (18) ()
• Cross-country skiing (20) ()
• Ice sledge hockey (1) ()
• Wheelchair curling (1) ()

The closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Paralympics was held on 16 March 2014 at Fisht Olympic Stadium. Entitled "Reaching the Impossible", the ceremony was themed around inclusivity, and featured sequences paying tribute to Russian abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky, and Alexey Pajitnov's classic video game Tetris. During his closing remarks, deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak stated that the Games had become a "catalyst for our efforts to create a barrier-free environment in Russia", and promised that "this important work will continue throughout our vast country." Sir Phillip Craven congratulated Russia for hosting what he deemed to be the best Winter Paralympic Games, and stated that the Games' participants had "shown the world that absolutely anything is possible and that life is about amazing capabilities and not perceived deficiencies."[14][15][16]

  *   Host nation (Russia)

Rank	NPC	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Russia (RUS)*	30	28	22	80
2	Germany (GER)	9	5	1	15
3	Canada (CAN)	7	2	7	16
4	Ukraine (UKR)	5	9	11	25
5	France (FRA)	5	3	4	12
6	Slovakia (SVK)	3	2	2	7
7	Japan (JPN)	3	1	2	6
8	United States (USA)	2	7	9	18
9	Austria (AUT)	2	5	4	11
10	Great Britain (GBR)	1	3	2	6
11–19	Remaining NPCs	5	7	8	20
Totals (19 entries)		72	72	72	216

On 27–28 February 2014 in the aftermath of the Ukrainian revolution, Russian troops seized control of most of the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine located on the northern coast of the Black Sea—roughly 480 kilometres (300 mi) from Sochi,[25] including civil buildings, airports, and military bases.[26] On 1 March 2014, the Russian legislature approved the use of the Russian military in Ukraine, and Russian officials stated that their military forces in Crimea were not a breach of existing agreements between Russia and Ukraine.[27] The Ukrainian response has been muted trying to find a diplomatic solution, with no military action on the part of Ukraine's government, which was formed in Kyiv less than a week before the intervention. Russia vowed troops would stay until the political situation was "normalised".[28] A referendum on whether Crimea would separate from Ukraine was held on 16 March 2014—the same day as the closing ceremony of these Games.[29]

The effects of these developments led to several notable political actions surrounding the Paralympics. On 2 March 2014, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced that British government officials were planning to boycott the 2014 Winter Paralympics in response to the situation in Crimea, while Prince Edward cancelled plans to travel to Sochi for the Games "on the advice of government."[30][31] On 3 March 2014, United States National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden announced that the United States would not send a presidential delegation to Sochi (which was to be led by Tammy Duckworth) at all, "in addition to other measures we are taking in response to the situation in Ukraine." Neither of the boycotts affected the participation of their respective athletes in the Games; Hayden went on to say that "President Obama continues to strongly support all of the U.S. athletes who will participate in the Paralympics and wishes them great success".[30][32]

IPC communications head Craig Spence reported prior to the Games that there were not any boycott efforts among athletes, and stated that although the organization would keep an eye on the situation in the Crimea, "we've obviously expressed our disappointment with what's going on in the political situation, but at the end of the day, we're not here to do politics. We're here to organize a sporting event." He went on to emphasize that the same level of security measures in place during the Olympics would be in place during the Paralympics, and ensured that Sochi would be the "safest place" in the country during the Games.[25][33]

The Ukraine team still participated in the Games, but Valeriy Sushkevich, head of the country's National Paralympic Committee, warned that "if there is an escalation of the conflict, intervention on the territory of our country, God forbid the worst, we would not be able to stay here. We would go." As a symbolic protest, the Ukrainian team declined to participate in the opening ceremonies' parade of nations, sending only its flagbearer Mykailo Tkachenko—who entered to an ovation from the audience.[6] Some Ukrainian medalists were seen covering their medal with their hand during ceremonies as another form of silent protest; Sushkevich stated that the covering was "a demonstration that aggression and the high ideals of Paralympic sports are incompatible."[34]

On 18 July 2016, the World Anti-Doping Agency published the first part of an independent report detailing a state-sponsored doping program in Russian Olympic and Paralympic sport, coordinated by the country's Ministry of Sport and Federal Security Service (FSB), where positive urine samples were swapped in favour of clean ones in order to evade detection.[35] The IPC found evidence that swapping of positive samples had occurred during the 2014 Winter Paralympics.[36][37][38][39]

On 7 August 2016, the International Paralympic Committee announced that it had suspended the Russian Paralympic Committee. The country was banned from the 2016 Summer Paralympics. At the 2018 Winter Paralympics, the RPC remained suspended, but the IPC did allow clean Russian athletes to compete neutrally under the Paralympic flag (mirroring a similar decision by the IOC for the 2018 Winter Olympics).[40][39][41]

Concerns surrounding LGBT rights in Russia and the country's "gay propaganda" law continued into the Paralympics. On 4 February 2014, Norway's openly gay health minister Bent Høie announced he would attend the Games with his husband, as is common for cabinet officials to travel with their spouses.[42] The Federation of Gay Games also started a petition calling for IPC president Philip Craven not to attend the Games if Russian authorities did not allow the Russian Open Games, a multi-sport event for LGBT athletes which organizers attempted to hold prior to the Paralympics, to occur. These games were faced with a bomb threat, and its venues arbitrarily pulling out of providing their services for events, which was believed to be a result of government pressure.[43]