Paralympic mascot Bandabi poses with spectators during an Alpine skiing test event earlier this month ©Getty Images

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Sir Philip Craven has predicted that a new generation of sporting stars will mark their breakthrough at the 2018 Winter Games here.

 Test events in snowboarding and Nordic skiing are currently take place in the South Korean resort.

"This year we have already witnessed fantastic World Championships and World Cup competitions in Alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing and snowboard where a number of new talents have really shook up the status quo," said Sir Philip, who will step down as President in September before the Games at the end of his 16-year term. 

"The competition is more exciting than ever before with athletes greatly raising the bar in terms of performance."

The Briton believes the depth in competition has never been stronger.

"In particular we’ve seen a number of talented youngsters who have been on the circuit a while really mature and start to podium more consistently," he said.

"At the same time, the dominance some athletes have enjoyed in recent years has been broken ensuring greater unpredictability in the outcome of races.

"These are exciting times for Paralympic winter sport."


Sir Philip particularly the introduction of banked slalom snowboarding and a head-to-heat snowboard cross format as particular elements to look out for.

"I am sure snowboard, like it was at Sochi [2014], will be a big hit with spectators in Pyeongchang," he said.

Up to 670 athletes from 45 nations are set to compete in 80 medal events in six sports when the Games get underway.

The main question mark, however, revolves around whether Russian athletes will be free to participate.

This depends on the lifting of a Russian Paralympic Committee suspension introduced in August following evidence of state-sponsored doping across both Olympic and Paralympic sport.

The Russian Paralympic Committee has been given a list of criteria they must fulfill if the suspension is to be lifted.

Pyeongchang 2018 is due to take place from March 9 to 18 next year.

Tickets are due to officially go on sale later this year. 

Paralympic representatives will be among those present for an International Olympic Committee Coordination Commission inspection due to start here tomorrow.