Raring to go

Now, athletes are simply raring for the action to begin as they chase their Paralympic dreams.

"I'm fortunate to represent my country in doing the thing I love most, so it'll be an absolute honor to put on the Paralympic uniform again in China and make Australia proud," said Ben Tudhope, Australia's world No 1 para snowboarder.

An all-arounder who excels at both summer and winter para sports, defending Paralympic cross-country skiing champion Oksana Masters of the United States is making up for the disappointment at missing out on the 2008 summer edition this time around in Beijing.

"I wanted to get to the Beijing 2008 Summer Paralympics so bad, and I failed to make it. I feel like this is literally going to be my Paralympic journey as an athlete coming full circle," said Masters, who also competes in para rowing and cycling at the Summer Paralympics.

A record number of 96 Chinese athletes, compared to only 26 four years ago, will compete across all six sports at their home Paralympics. The host delegation is raring to show the world how far they've come in developing high-level para winter sports over the past six years.

"Since we won the bid in 2015, we have embraced this great opportunity to develop Paralympic winter sports. And thanks to our hard work, we have made great progress," said Yong Zhijun, deputy director of the sports department at the China Disabled Persons' Federation.

"Since 2016, we have participated in more and more international tournaments, winning medals and making many breakthroughs over the past few years."

After winning the country's first Winter Paralympic gold medal in wheelchair curling in 2018, the Chinese contingent is expected to deliver more breakthroughs in snow sports, such as para cross-country skiing and para Alpine skiing, according to the federation.