Beijing (AB) – More women are taking part in the Winter Paralympics in Beijing than ever before. Just hours before the opening ceremony, the IPC announced that 138 of China’s 564 openers were women.

This is still less than a quarter, but five more than Pyongyang 2018, although the number of athletes remained the same. In medal events, women are four less than men (35:39). “We still have a long way to go to achieve gender equality, but the significant increase in female participants shows that we are on the right track,” said IPC President Andrew Parsons.

In the absence of Russia and Belarus, the number of participating countries dropped from 49 to 46. Israel, Puerto Rico and Azerbaijan each make their debut with a starter. With 96 athletes, the largest delegation with almost a quarter of the total starting players is host China. Next to the United States is 65. Germany has 17 athletes in China.

In the Nordic region, the German Sports Association for the Disabled offers junior and senior starters, including 15-year-old Lynn Cosmeier and 52-year-old Alexander Ehler. Overall, American curler Palm Wilson is 66 years younger, while Austrian skier Elena Starry is also 15 years old, but 44 days younger than Cosmere.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 220304-99-378832 / 2