Detail

The PyeongChang 2018 Winter Paralympics came to a grand finale on 18 March after 10 days of wonderful sporting action showcased the outstanding abilities of Para athletes to record crowds and a global audience. More than 1,500 athletes and national representatives from 49 delegations competed in the biggest Paralympic Winter Games to date. South Korea claimed 16th place in the medals table with one gold and two bronze medals, the most in the country s Paralympic Winter Games history. One of the athletes who grabbed the most attention was Nordic skier Sin Eui-hyun. Having had both his lower legs amputated, Sin competed in six individual and one team event, skiing a distance of nearly 64km in cross-country skiing and biathlon sit-ski events. He won the bronze medal in the men`s 15km sitting cross-country event held at the Alpensia Cross-Country and Biathlon Centre located in Pyeongchanggun, and then won South Korea`s first-ever Paralympics winter gold medal in the men`s 7.5-km sitting cross-country skiing event. Following his historic success, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) named Sin one of the‘top five medalists’for showing one incredible performance after another. Para Ice hockey was one of the most popular sports at PyeongChang 2018 and South Korea won its first ever medal in the sport, a great achievement after placing 6th and 7th place at the Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 Paralympics respectively. Led by coach Seo Kwang-suk, the team (Kim Dea-jung, Kim Young-sung, Yu Man-gyun, Lee Yong-min, Lee Jae-woong, Lee Jong-kyung, Lee Ju-seung, Lee Ji-hoon, Lee Hae-man, Jang Dong-shin, Jang Jong-ho, Jung Seung-hwan, Cho Byeong-seok, Cho Young-jae, Choi Kwang-hyouk, Choi Si-woo, Han Min-su) defeated Italy with the score of 1:0 in the third place match held at Gangneung Hockey Centre to win the bronze. In a closely contested game, the deadlock was not broken until just 3:18 remained of the final period. Jang Dong-shin scored the historic goal from a Jung Seung-hwan assist. The team winning the bronze was selected as one of the top 5 best moments of the event. The PyeongChang 2018 Winter Paralympics showed and proved that disabilities should not be an obstacle on the path to a dream. We applaud all of the Para athletes who displayed something more valuable than medals, and wish that this event may serve as an opportunity for our society to transform its awareness of people with an impairment and grow into a more mature and inclusive society.