The 1988 Winter Paralympic Games (German: Paralympische Winterspiele 1988) were the fourth Winter Paralympics, held again in Innsbruck, Austria. These were the last Paralympics to be held in a separate location from the Olympics. Beginning in 1992, the Olympics and the Paralympics were held in the same city or in an adjacent city. These Paralympics were not held at the same Olympic venue in Calgary, Canada, because of financial and recruiting difficulties. A total of 377 athletes from 22 countries took part. The USSR competed for the first and only time. Sit-skiing was introduced as another event in both the Alpine and Nordic skiing competitions. Other sports were biathlon and ice sledge speed racing. Ice sledge speed racer Knut Lundstroem from Norway was the most successful athlete, winning four gold medals in the 100m, 500m, 1000m and 1500m events.[1]

IV Paralympic Winter Games
LocationInnsbruck, Austria
Nations22
Athletes377
Events96 in 4 sports
Opening17 January
Closing24 January
Opened by
StadiumOlympiahalle
Winter
Summer

Sports

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Medal table

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Participating countries; first time participants are blue.

The top 10 NPCs by number of gold medals are listed below. The host nation (Austria) is highlighted.

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  Norway25211460
2  Austria*20101444
3  West Germany9111030
4  Finland98825
5  Switzerland87823
6  United States717630
7  France55313
8  Canada53513
9  Sweden37515
10  Italy3069
Totals (10 entries)948979262

Participating nations

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Twenty two nations participated in the 1988 Winter Paralympics. Soviet Union made their debut appearance at the Winter Games.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Innsbruck 1988". International Paralympic Committee.
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Preceded by Winter Paralympics
Innsbruck

V Paralympic Winter Games (1988)
Succeeded by