Armenia at the 2018 Winter Paralympics
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Armenia sent competitors to the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The country sent one para-alpine skier, Sasun Hakobyan. He qualified for the Winter Games in November 2017, and was named to the team before any of the country's Olympic people.
Armenia sent one person to the 2018 Winter Paralympics. Sasun Hakobyan (Սասուն Հակոբյան) was chosen to represent Armenia in December 2017. [1][2] He was selected for the Paralympics before any of the country's Olympic people.[1][2] The total number of members of the team was five. It included four people who were there to support its skier.[3] The team left for South Korea on 5 March 2018.[4]
In late February, Armenian National Paralympic Committee President Hakob Abrahamyan was trying to add one person to the team. He wanted alpine skier Sasun Hakobyan to go to Pyeongchang too. The problem was the skier missed a qualifying competition. Armenia asked the International Paralympic Committee to allow him to compete anyway.[4]
The table below contains the list of members of people (called "Team Armenia") that will be participating in the 2018 Games.
| Name | Sport | Gender | Classification | Events | ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sasun Hakobyan | para-alpine skiing | male | LW2 | [1][5][6] | |
| Stasik Nazaryan | para-alpine skiing | male | [4] |
Preparations
The Government of Armenia gave the National Paralympic Committee AMD 6.5 million for the Winter Paralympics. The money was used for airfare, uniforms and sports equipment.[4]
Russian doping scandal
15 National Paralympic Committees and the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation signed a letter expressing support for the National Paralympic Committee of Russia in August 2017. The countries included Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Laos, Moldova, Mongolia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Montenegro, and South Korea. They asked the IPC Governing Board to consider letting Russia compete at the 2018 Winter Paralympics. The letter was signed weeks before the IPC Governing Board met in Abu Dhabi.[7] In September 2017, this decision was reviewed and upheld. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) still had concerns about doping in Russian sport. All the conditions the IPC required of the Russians were not met.[8]