Andorra at the 2014 Winter Paralympics

Andorra at the
2014 Winter Paralympics
IPC codeAND
NPCAndorran Adapted Sports Federation
in Sochi
Competitors1 in 1 sport
Medals
Gold
0
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
0
Winter Paralympics appearances (overview)

Andorra sent a delegation to compete at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, held between 7–16 March 2014. This marked the nation's fourth participation in a Winter Paralympics The delegation consisted of a single athlete, alpine skier Xavier Fernandez, who failed to post a finishing time in either of the two events he competed in.

Background

Andorra has participated in every Winter Paralympics since the 2002 edition. They have only participated in the Summer Paralympics once, in 2012.[1] They had never won a medal at any Paralympics Games before the Sochi edition.[1] Alpine skiing is the only sport Andorra had ever competed at in a Winter Paralympics.[2] Xavier Fernandez was chosen as the Andorran flag-bearer for the parade of nations during the opening ceremony,[3] and for the closing ceremony.[4]

Disability classification

Every participant at the Paralympics has their disability grouped into one of five disability categories; amputation, the condition may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes, there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment, including blindness; or Les autres. Les autres includes+ any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, for example dwarfism or multiple sclerosis.[5][6] Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent upon the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing. Events with "B" in the code are for athletes with visual impairment, codes LW1 to LW9 are for athletes who stand to compete and LW10 to LW12 are for athletes who compete sitting down. Alpine skiing events grouped athletes into separate competitions for sitting, standing and visually impaired athletes.[7]

Alpine skiing

Xavier Fernandez was 41 at the time of the Sochi Paralympics.[8] He is classified LW10-1, and competes in a sitting position.[8] On 13 March 2014, he was one of 41 athletes who competed in the slalom event, however, he was unable to finish the race due to a fall.[9][10] Two days later, there were 45 competitors entered in the giant slalom event. Fernandez was disqualified during the first run for unspecified reasons.[8][11]

Athlete Event Run 1 Run 2 Final/Total
Time Diff Rank Time Diff Rank Time Diff Rank
Xavier Fernandez Slalom, sitting[8] DNF
Giant slalom, sitting[8] DSQ

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Andorra at the Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Andorra: 6 facts on the Sochi 2014 Paralympics". International Paralympic Committee. 5 February 2014. Archived from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Sochi 2014 Opening Ceremony flag bearers". International Paralympic Committee. 7 March 2014. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Sochi 2014 Closing Ceremony flag bearers". International Paralympic Committee. 16 March 2014. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Paralympics categories explained". ABC. 3 September 2008. Archived from the original on 12 September 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Making sense of the categories". BBC Sport. 6 October 2000. Archived from the original on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Sochi Winter Paralympics: Guide to the sports". BBC Online. 18 February 2014. Archived from the original on 19 December 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Xavier Fernandez – Alpine Skiing – Andorra". Organizing Committee of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi. Archived from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Xavier Fernandez (1st run) – Men's slalom sitting – Alpine skiing – Sochi 2014 Paralympics". YouTube posted by the International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Alpine Skiing at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games – Men's Slalom Sitting". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Alpine Skiing at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games – Men's Giant Slalom Sitting". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.