Torino 2006
Italy
10 - 19 March 2006
- NPC debuts: 2
- Top 5 Medals Table
-
Top 5 Medals Table Pos. Countries Gold medals amount Silver medals amount Bronze medals amount 1 
RUS
13 13 7 2 
GER
8 5 5 3 
UKR
7 9 9 4 
FRA
7 2 6 5 
USA
7 2 3
Kimberley Joines (CAN) competes in the Women's Giant Slalom - Sitting at the Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games.
© Getty Images
Gerd Schoenfelder of Germany competes in the Men's Super G
SPORTS
Five different sports were showcased in Torino, with the debut of wheelchair curling attracting large crowds.
Para alpine skiing Para biathlon Para cross-country skiing Para ice hockey Wheelchair curling
TORCH RELAY
The torch was carried by 126 different people, all the way from Verbania to Torino, and it reached an altitude of 3,080 meters on Monte Rosa.
OPENING CEREMONY
Held on 10 March, the Torino 2006 Paralympics Opening Ceremony involved an audience of about 25,000 and was broadcasted live to millions of viewers around the globe. The theme of the Ceremony was overcoming limitations and was a celebration of those who chose not to surrender.
MEDALS
Russia topped the medal tally with 13 golds, followed by Germany’s eight. Ukraine jumped from an 18th-place finish at the Salt Lake City 2002 Games to a third-place finish in Torino.
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES
Ukraine’s Olena Iurkovska led the individual medal tally with four golds, a silver and a bronze.
The Russians secured their golden glory with the performance of a number of standouts in the nordic skiing competition. Lioubov Vasilieva won three golds and a bronze; Taras Kryjanovski took two golds and two silvers; and Rustam Garifoullin won two golds and a sliver.
With two golds, a silver and a bronze, Germany’s Gerd Schoenfelder became the most decorated male athlete in Paralympic alpine skiing.
Canada defeated Norway, 3-1, in the gold-medal match of the ice sledge hockey competition.
ATTENDANCE AND COVERAGE
A total of 169,974 tickets were sold for Games events, as the ice sledge hockey and wheelchair curling finals, as well as the Opening Ceremony, were sold out.
A record 1,037 media representatives arrived in Torino to cover the Games, and the host broadcaster, International Sports Broadcasting (ISB), provided more than 130 hours of live coverage.
The IPC launched its online TV channel, ParalympicSport.TV, at the Games. Nearly 40,000 unique viewers tuned into the channel from 105 nations. Most viewers hailed from the USA, Italy, Canada, Germany and Japan, and the channel drew a five percent increase in new viewers each day of the Games.
CLOSING CEREMONY
The Closing Ceremony, held on 19 March, took place in Piazza Castello, and the theme of the event was spring time – the transition from the dark and cold of winter to a time of warmth and excitement. It was supposed to be a metaphor for the change experienced by the city of Torino as a result of hosting both the Olympics and Paralympics. Three hundred artists were involved in the Ceremony, most of them from Torino-based companies.
