Winter Paralympics: Who are the stars to watch at Beijing 2022?

2 years ago 39

ARTICLE AD BOX

Venue: Beijing, China Dates: 4-13 March Time in Beijing: GMT +8

The Beijing Winter Paralympics will feature around 650 athletes competing in 78 events across six sports.

Whether it is hurtling down the ski slopes at speeds of up to 75mph, enduring cross-country races of up to 20km or crashing into opponents in the ice hockey rink, there will be plenty of excitement over the nine days of competition in China.

Who are the athletes hoping to shine on the big stage? BBC Sport takes a look at just some of the potential headline-makers.

Millie Knight (Great Britain - alpine skiing)

Still only 23, Beijing will be Knight's third Games and she will be hoping that it is third time lucky for gold.

She was the youngest member of the GB team in 2014 aged 15, finishing fifth in the visually impaired slalom and giant slalom, and made her mark with guide Brett Wild in Pyeongchang where the pair picked up silvers in the downhill and super-G, as well as slalom bronze.

Knight has suffered multiple concussions after heavy falls, most recently in early 2021, which left her questioning her future in the sport. However, racing with Wild, she laid down a marker at January's World Championships with super combined gold and super-G bronze.

Brian McKeever (Canada - Nordic skiing)

McKeever is a true Winter Paralympic legend with 17 medals, including 13 golds from five Games, and will be hungry for more in China in what he has said will be his final Games.

The 42-year-old, who was born in Calgary, started Nordic skiing aged three but has been affected by a degenerative eye condition since his teenage years. He is unbeaten in Paralympic cross-country races since Turin in 2006 having won three out of three races in Vancouver (where he was guided by older brother Robin), Sochi and Pyeongchang.

He and Robin starred in a high profile and emotional television commercial for car company Toyota which aired during this year's Super Bowl. Retaining his record in China will be a big challenge with some younger, hungry rivals coming onto the scene.

Declan Farmer (United States - ice hockey)

Already assured of his place in Paralympic history, Farmer wants to create more magic moments in China.

Four years ago in the gold-medal match against Canada, with the USA trailing 1-0, Farmer struck to level the game with 37 seconds left and then scored the winner to secure his second Paralympic gold as his country won their third gold medal in a row.

The 24-year-old from Tampa, Florida, was born a double amputee and first tried the sport aged nine, making the USA team for the first time aged just 14. As well as his Paralympic honours, he is also a three-time world champion.

Gregor Ewan (Great Britain - wheelchair curling)

Ewan is competing at his third Paralympics, having won bronze on his debut in Sochi in 2014. But the man who will be competing in the Ice Cube will be dramatically different to the one from four years ago in Pyeongchang, where GB failed to make the play-offs.

Since then, the Scot, 50, has overhauled his lifestyle, losing eight stone in weight, and worked his way back from being dropped from the squad in 2019 to being a key part of the team again, dealing with having to adapt to a new way of playing following his weight loss.

He returned to the Scotland set-up for last year's World Championships in Beijing, filling the role of vice-skip alongside skip Hugh Nibloe. The pair will provide experience for debutants Meggan Dawson-Farrell, Gary Melrose and Gary Smith.

As well as Paralympic bronze, Ewan has a world bronze and silver. Gold in China would complete the set nicely.

Shona Brownlee (Great Britain - alpine skiing)

You won't find many Paralympians who also have a master's degree in music - but Brownlee, who is making her Games debut, is one.

She injured her right leg in 2012 during Royal Air Force training and after developing complex regional pain syndrome, opted to have it amputated in 2018.

She learned to ski through the Ministry of Defence's Battle Back programme and in 2019 started sit-ski racing. The 42-year-old, who has also competed in Para-triathlon, has made rapid progress and was awarded RAF Sportswoman of the year in 2021.

Her World Championship debut in January saw her win super-G silver and giant slalom bronze.

Lisa Bunschoten (Netherlands - snowboard)

The Dutch star will be appearing at her third Paralympics, having won silver and bronze in Pyeongchang. She was beaten in both events by her compatriot, the pioneering Bibian Mentel-Spee, who died from cancer last year so Beijing will be an emotional experience.

Bunschoten, who will carry the Dutch flag at the opening ceremony of the Games along with partner and team-mate Chris Vos, was born with a condition which caused her left leg to grow shorter than her right. She took up snowboarding aged 14 before having her left foot amputated when she was 16.

A double gold medallist at the recent World Championships, Bunschoten's big challenge is set to come from Canada's Lisa DeJong, who won double silver at the same event.

Neil Simpson (Great Britain - alpine skiing)

The 20-year-old from Aberdeen has been skiing since he was four despite being born with the visual impairment Nystagmus, which causes involuntary eye movements.

He made it onto the GB squad aged 16 and since then, along with his older brother Andrew, has won World Cup and World Championship medals.

Back in 2020, he was shortlisted for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award, and will be making his Paralympic debut in China where he will have a busy schedule with five events. The pair warmed up for the Games with three top-five finishes at the Worlds, including super combined silver.

Around the BBC - Sounds