The Beijing Winter Paralympics Games kicks off today, Friday, 4th of March, 2022 despite Russia’s war in Ukraine and its consequences at home.
Organizers have banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the competion (winter Paralympics) – which is a twist in their original decision just a day before the Games were set to begin.
Some 700 world-class athletes will participate in this year’s events, which run through March 13. They will compete in 78 events across six sports in two sports sections, ranging from ice sports like para ice hockey and wheelchair curling to snow sports including alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, biathlon and snowboarding.
NBC Universal said for the winter paralympics, armchair athletes can gear up for a marathon and it’s airing 230 hours of Paralympic programming, including a record of120 hours on TV. Three of those hours will be on primetime, in what it calls a Winter Paralympics first.