The 2022 Paralympic Games Quick Recap

As the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Competition comes to a close today, the US picks up a total of 20 medals throughout all 6 of the games, coming in 5th place.

The home country of China took 1st place at the games, keeping 61 medals, 18 of which were gold. Coming in second place overall was Ukraine with 29 medals total with 11 gold. The third place was taken by Canada and the fourth was held by France with 8 and 7 gold medals respectively. The US had a total of 6 gold medals.

The Paralympics have 6 sports in which Paralympic athletes compete, consisting of wheelchair curling, biathlon, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, para ice hockey, and alpine skiing. The US took home 3 gold medals in the biathlon, 1 from cross-country skiing, snowboarding, and para ice hockey. They, unfortunately, did not succeed in receiving a gold medal in alpine skiing or wheelchair curling.

With a maximum of 736 Paralympians, the US sent the second largest group of athletes to the Beijing Paralympic Winter Games, the first of which being China. Of the 67 US athletes, only 15 were female. These women can compete in 34 women’s events and 4 mixed events, allowing them to show the world their athletic talents and abilities. In Paralympic Biathlon, US women dominated, earning home 3 gold medals, 2 silver medals, and one bronze medal. The immense amount of medals came from Oksana Masters, who received 2 gold medals and one silver in her amazing performance in biathlon, and Kendal Gretsch, who received one of each medal. In Cross Country Skiing, the female group helped secure 6 total medals, one of which being gold in the mixed 4 by 2.5km relay.  Lastly for the US Paralympic women, one strong-willed woman, Brenna Huckaby, collected both a gold and a bronze medal in two different snowboarding categories. These women show the true meaning of grit and determination as they work their way to being the best of the best at the Beijing Winter Paralympics.