After a month of unforgettable winter sport, Sochi’s Olympic Park bids farewell to the world as the 11th Winter Paralympics draws to a close on Sunday, live on Channel 4.
Before the fun and fanfare of the closing ceremony, there are still nine more gold medals to be won with more potentially more medals coming the way of ParalympicsGB.
On Saturday, Great Britain’s wheelchair curlers overcame earlier disappointment in the semi-final defeat to hosts Russia by wining a bronze medal, beating China 7-3 to win GB’s history-making sixth medal of the Games.
Four athletes will represent Great Britain in the women’s giant slalom on Sunday, the final Alpine Skiing event, including visually impaired medal winners Kelly Gallagher and Jade Etherington, as well as 15-year-old Millie Knight, while Anna Turney goes in the sitting catergory.
The only other sport in action on the final day is the Cross Country, where Tatyana McFadden of the United States aims to cement her status as one of the greats of Paralympic sport.
A three-time Paralympic champion at the summer Games, she won a silver in the Cross Country Sprint and now targets more success in the 5km Cross Country Sitting race.
Once the last medal is won up in the mountains in the women’s giant slalom, the focus turns towards the Closing Ceremony of Russia’s first ever Paralympic Winter Games.
It will take place at the Fisht Olympic Stadium, starting at 16:14 GMT, and the Russian organisers are promising demonstrate to the world how the Games have proven the seemingly impossible is possible.
The thrilling show is titled ‘Reaching the Impossible’ and will celebrate the magnificent achievements of the Paralympic athletes, who have shown the world the impossible is possible through strength of spirit and a relentless pursuit of sporting victory.
Aleksey Chuvashev, a rowing Paralympian and medalist at London 2012 will be a central hero of the Ceremony.
Demonstrating the wonders of strength and courage, during a section of the Ceremony he will climb a rope with only his hands to a height of 15 meters.
To the backdrop of the music by Russian composer Alfred Schnittke, the Ceremony will be opened by memorable choreographed pieces performed by members of the Russian Wheelchair Dance Sport Federation together with trapeze artists in distinctive illuminated costumes, who form abstract shapes in the air.
This segment is produced by the creative duo of Konstantin Vasiliev, coach of world and European champions in wheelchair dance sport, and Phil Hayes, world-renowned aerial choreographer.
A key theme in the buildup and staging of the Paralympic Winter Games, the Closing Ceremony will once again showcase the principle of inclusiveness in action.
Among the top performers on the night will be renowned tenor Jose Carreras, Russian singers Nafset Chenib and Diana Gurtskaya, conductor Aleksey Petrov, pianist Oleg Akkuratov and a dance troupe of 210 Cossacks directed by a choreographer Nikolay Kubar.
Over 460 artists, who for the past months have been working hard rehearsing, will take part in the Closing Ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.
The performance is filled with impressive music, breathtaking choreography, original view and vivid visual displays.
In addition, there will be the usual parade of flags as athletes celebrate their participation in the Games, along with the usual speeches from dignitaries, including the last speech from outgoing IPC president Sir Phillip Craven.
For the first time on British television, para-sports fans will be able to enjoy rolling live coverage of a Winter Paralympic Games and Channel 4 will be providing the most comprehensive TV output of the event in its history, with more than 50 hours of live action over the ten days of competition.
You can follow all the key action from the Sochi 2014 Winter Paralympics by watching Channel 4 and More4’s extensive daily coverage on TV and online.
Plus via two additional Paralympic Extra HD streams available via the Channel 4 Paralympics website on PCs, laptops, mobiles and tablet devices.
SOTB’s TV viewing guide to Day 9 of the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games below:
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DAY 9: SUNDAY 15th MARCH
05:25 – 10:30 |
ALPINE SKIING & CROSS COUNTRY Presenters: Kelly Cates & Arthur Williams |
The last sporting action of Sochi 2014 takes place this morning with the final nine gold medals all up for grabs.
The action begins with the Women’s Giant Slalom at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Centre with more British hopes for medals to end what has been a historic Games for ParalympicsGB.
British medallists Kelly Gallagher and Jade Etherington lead the British challenge, hoping for more success in the Visually Impaired category.
Fifteen-year-old Millie Knight is also scheduled to compete, following her impressive top five finish in the Slalom.
Elsewhere, America’s Tatyana McFadden aims to cement her status as one of the greats of Paralympic sport.
A three-time Paralympic champion at the summer Games, she won a silver in the Cross Country Sprint and now targets more success in the 5km Cross Country Sitting race.
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15:45 – 17:55 |
CLOSING CEREMONY Presenters: Jonathan Edwards & Ade Adepitan |
The 11th Winter Paralympics draw to a close at the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi with the Closing Ceremony to the 2014 Games.
As athletes from across the world process through the Fisht Stadium, the audience is treated to a series of colourful shows, including a grand finale entitled ‘Leading the Impossible’.
After nine days of action in and above the Black Sea resort, with 72 gold medals awarded in total, the Channel 4 team will reflect on all the key moments of the Games, including the extraordinary success for ParalympicsGB’s athletes.
Live coverage will be introduced by Jonathan Edwards and Ade Adepitan, who will be joined by guests including fellow Channel 4 presenters Kelly Cates and Arthur Williams.
Commentary on the ceremony itself in Sochi, which begins at 4.14pm UK time, will be led by Rob Walker and Sean Rose.
There is also live coverage of the Closing Ceremony with audio description available via the Channel 4 Paralympics website.
| 05:30-07:00 | ALPINE SKIING | LIVE Women’s Giant Slalom – Run 1 |
| 09:00-10:30 | ALPINE SKIING | LIVE Women’s Giant Slalom – Run 2 |
| 15:45-18:05 | CLOSING CEREMONY | LIVE Audio Description |
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| 06:00-10:45 | CROSS COUNTRY |
LIVE Men’s 10km / Women’s 5km |
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In conjunction with Channel 4 and More4’s main TV coverage, winter para-sport fans can choose watch extra live coverage via the network’s dedicated Paralympics website – channel4.com/paralympics.
Channel 4’s ground-breaking coverage of the Games is the greatest ever commitment to the Winter Paralympics from a UK broadcaster and viewers can find more live action via its exclusive online offering.
Two further high definition channels of live streaming will be available via the Channel 4 Paralympics website, which will broadcast an additional 100 hours of uninterrupted live winter para-sport.
These two Paralympic Extra streams will be available as video on demand on computer, smartphone and tablet devices only.
Fast-turnaround highlights of medals and key moments will be available on the Channel 4 Paralympic website and YouTube, as well as on Facebook and Twitter.
There will be live blogging throughout the Games on the Channel 4 website, sharing the latest new, photos, videos, comment and opinion.
For more information on the different classifications involved in each of the sports at the Winter Paralympic Games, visit the Channel 4 website dedicated to its ground-breaking and acclaimed LEXI decoder.
LEXI unlocks the complex world of classification in Paralympic sports and illustrates the different levels of impairment in each class by simply using four colours – green, yellow, orange and red.
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05:30 Women’s Giant Slalom, Run 1 – Visually Impaired
Jade Etherington / Kelly Gallagher / Millie Knight
05:55 Women’s Giant Slalom, Run 1 – Standing
06:35 Women’s Giant Slalom, Run 1 – Sitting
Anna Turney
LIVE: 5.30am-7.00am C4 Online Stream 1
09:00 Women’s Giant Slalom, Run 2 – Visually Impaired*
Jade Etherington / Kelly Gallagher / Millie Knight
09:20 Women’s Giant Slalom, Run 2 – Standing*
09:55 Women’s Giant Slalom, Run 2 – Sitting*
Anna Turney
LIVE: 9.00am-10.30am C4 Online Stream 1
06:00 Men’s 10km Free – Standing*
06:20 Men’s 10km Free – Visually Impaired*
07:23 Women’s 5km Free – Standing*
07:40 Women’s 5km Free – Visually Impaired*
08:30 Women’s 5km Free – Sitting*
08:45 Men’s 10km Free – Sitting*
LIVE: 6.00am-10.45am C4 Online Stream 2
All timings/channels listed above subject to change. *denotes event finals.
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