10 days
The 2018 Paralympic Winter Games will open on Friday, March 9 with the Opening Ceremony, which can be watched live at 6 a.m. ET on NBCSN or NBCOlympics.com. Competition coverage will kick off that night, and continue until Sunday, March 18.
670 athletes
The PyeongChang Paralympics will be the biggest yet, with around 670 athletes from over 40 countries participating. At the first Winter Paralympics, only about 250 athletes competed.
6 sports
There are six sports, with 80 total medal events, on the Winter Paralympic program:
Para Alpine skiing
Para biathlon
Para cross-country skiing
Sled Hockey
Para snowboarding
Wheelchair curling
1976
The inaugural Winter Paralympics were held in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden in 1976, and 17 nations participated. The first ever Paralympics were held in Rome, Italy after the 1960 Summer Olympics.
250 hours
NBC Olympics will dedicate more than 250 hours of coverage to the 2018 Paralympic Games across NBCOlympics.com, NBC, NBCSN, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA and the NBC Sports app.
74 U.S. Paralympians
33 members of the 2018 U.S. Paralympic team are first-time Paralympians, while 41 of the athletes are returning to the Paralympics. Combined, they’ve won 39 Paralympic medals. The most decorated member is Laurie Stephens, a six-time Paralympic medalist in Alpine skiing.
Team USA ranges in age from 16 to 59: the youngest member is Alpine skier Ally Kunkel, and the oldest is Alpine skier Mark Bathum.
Six members of the U.S. Paralympic team are guides. Rob Umstead has been the Alpine skiing guide for Danelle Umstead snce 2010, and they are the only married couple on Team USA.
