:00:00. > :00:26.Winter Paralympics, in The Path to Pyeongchang.
:00:27. > :00:31.From a rather basic beginnings to a new age of technological
:00:32. > :00:36.innovations. Paralympic sport has come a long way. Record numbers
:00:37. > :00:38.watch the London and Rio summer games. Another Winter paralympians
:00:39. > :00:54.are starting to make their mark, too.
:00:55. > :00:59.2014 was undoubtedly the biggest winter Paralympics to date. From a
:01:00. > :01:04.British perspective, a at least dazzle, winning six medals. That was
:01:05. > :01:09.four years after drawing a blank in Vancouver. But will that be good and
:01:10. > :01:14.of the podium places in Pyeongchang? Jade Hetherington was one Briton's
:01:15. > :01:20.biggest success stories, securing four of GB's six medals. But she
:01:21. > :01:24.since retired. Her Paralympic team-mate Kelly Gallagher is still
:01:25. > :01:29.competing. In 2014 she claimed Britain's first Amber Winter
:01:30. > :01:33.Paralympic gold and continues to win medals. A heavy crash in training
:01:34. > :01:36.for this year's World Championships ended the season early. But she is
:01:37. > :01:48.determined to return stronger than ever. You tend to fall a lot in
:01:49. > :01:52.skiing, you are pushing yourself to the limit, it was a real accident. I
:01:53. > :02:00.didn't land very well after coming of age and I could not recover. I
:02:01. > :02:05.felt there was something wrong. But I couldn't tell what it was. Mike
:02:06. > :02:11.I'd got to me first and I asked him to take my engagement ring of, so I
:02:12. > :02:18.have my priorities! I dislocated my elbow and broke some ribs and I hurt
:02:19. > :02:28.my leg. I had a big bone bruise on my right leg, but I'm on the mend at
:02:29. > :02:43.least. No one is harder on me than myself. When I came back, I was so
:02:44. > :02:49.overwhelmed. I don't see it as negative in any way. I think in
:02:50. > :02:52.Northern Ireland and all of the world we should celebrate people's
:02:53. > :03:05.endeavours and then trying their best in all walks of life. It's
:03:06. > :03:09.taken me a bit longer to put my trust and make our... To Bill to
:03:10. > :03:26.make us a winning team. I could plan an amazing speech, but
:03:27. > :03:32.I'm not sure I am the best person to planet. I will just love it. I want
:03:33. > :03:34.to get the skiing out of the road. Realistically, I will probably be
:03:35. > :03:38.back training on snow in August and then the idea is to be back for the
:03:39. > :03:45.full season arrays and training and then back to Pyeongchang in the
:03:46. > :03:48.summertime. Hopefully I will have something to celebrate and done if
:03:49. > :03:56.not, I am moving onto the next thing. I'm sure sure we'll be back
:03:57. > :03:59.pushing to the podium and challenging for the medals later
:04:00. > :04:02.this year. The listenable championships gave to the visually
:04:03. > :04:04.impaired rising star British skiers to prove their potential at
:04:05. > :04:26.Pyeongchang. I'm a world champion. Pyeongchang,
:04:27. > :04:31.2008 team will be my second Paralympics. It will be my first
:04:32. > :04:34.Paralympics. How important is a guide? I can only see tee-macro
:04:35. > :04:43.meters. They will be disastrous to ski on my own. About 90 kilometres
:04:44. > :04:49.an hour. It feels amazing. I have got pretty and he skis two meters in
:04:50. > :04:52.front of me. He said the snow conditions and the terrain and then
:04:53. > :04:55.I can indicate whether I can see him and whether we need to speed up or
:04:56. > :05:01.slow down. This is a special partnership. I'd say we will
:05:02. > :05:06.probably be friends for life now. It is amazing from a perspective what
:05:07. > :05:13.she does. She must have a screw loose or something! I'm blind in my
:05:14. > :05:20.left eye I can only see about 5% vision in the right eye. I merely
:05:21. > :05:24.focus on the orange jacket and that is pretty much all I can see at that
:05:25. > :05:33.speed. We get an amazingly well. She is pretty much like a sister.
:05:34. > :05:37.Without the fighting. When I come into the sport I started working
:05:38. > :05:40.with Millie so I was able to build the knowledge and experience and
:05:41. > :05:46.then when I started working with Jenna, we could slot in nicely. It's
:05:47. > :05:49.a huge responsibility. Until you do it, you don't realise what the rate
:05:50. > :05:53.on your shoulders is. You are in charge of somebody's life in a trust
:05:54. > :05:59.you completely. It's quite restricting, being visually impaired
:06:00. > :06:05.off the piece. But on the skis, the speed I can go the freedom I have, I
:06:06. > :06:09.will never be able to drive a car, but I can ski faster than some
:06:10. > :06:16.people can drive. You have internal rivalries. You accomplish one
:06:17. > :06:24.another. It is great having competition. She is quite fearless
:06:25. > :06:30.and a good technical skier. She just has strength behind her. She is a
:06:31. > :06:44.fantastic spear. She won the gold in 2014. We are all great competition.
:06:45. > :06:49.Despite Kelly Gallagher's absence, these two helped push each other to
:06:50. > :06:54.the podium positions. They power to an impressive giant slalom bronze,
:06:55. > :06:57.whilst Millie and Brett would make history. They claim Britain's
:06:58. > :07:01.first-ever World Championship gold medal in this blog before adding
:07:02. > :07:08.three further silver medals to their horse. I just come back from an
:07:09. > :07:12.illness, so come into this World Championship, I didn't have any
:07:13. > :07:18.expectations. So to win a gold, it was incredible. Can you enjoy
:07:19. > :07:23.watching her until she is finished? No. As long as she comes over that
:07:24. > :07:29.reach and when she comes to the finish line, than I can relax a
:07:30. > :07:32.little. My mother has been there from the start, always fighting my
:07:33. > :07:36.corner. For her to be here is phenomenal. The support incredible.
:07:37. > :07:54.-- be support is incredible. Can you describe how you are feeling
:07:55. > :07:58.now? I'm very proud. They have worked so hard for this. I am really
:07:59. > :08:04.pleased. It is a good preparation for next year. This code is
:08:05. > :08:08.fantastic. We couldn't have thought of anything better. But the end goal
:08:09. > :08:13.is South Korea. We train every day with a goal of winning a gold. We go
:08:14. > :08:19.to the gym at 6am and then school and then back to the gym. It is
:08:20. > :08:23.tougher. Winning or getting any type of medal in the Paralympics is one
:08:24. > :08:29.of my biggest dreams. It will be absolutely amazing for us together
:08:30. > :08:39.to be on the podium in Pyeongchang. Winning a medal with your best
:08:40. > :08:45.friend would be life changing. From the super speedy skiers to slightly,
:08:46. > :08:53.colours. GB have excelled in it in Olympics and the Paralympics are
:08:54. > :08:56.looking to follow suit. Whilst they battled to bronze in Sochi three
:08:57. > :09:04.years ago. They generate Alain Jufer could best be described as a
:09:05. > :09:10.roller-coaster. -- their journey to Pyeongchang could best be described
:09:11. > :09:19.as a roller-coaster. It may appear quite a simple sport, but unlike in
:09:20. > :09:22.the Olympic version, which as sweepers, in the Paralympics, if an
:09:23. > :09:29.Offaly makes a mistake, there is no want to brush up after them. -- if
:09:30. > :09:39.an Offaly makes a mistake. Team GB have been successful though.
:09:40. > :09:51.Relegation 2015 Sauber ?1.1 million of UK sport funding axed. Sochi was
:09:52. > :09:54.one of the highlights of my career. The funding was fantastic to have
:09:55. > :10:00.and it allowed me to give up my job as a teacher and training full-time
:10:01. > :10:06.as an athlete. So that was a major blow to take the funding away. There
:10:07. > :10:12.was a lot at stake. We decided to cut our squad so it cut its from 12
:10:13. > :10:17.to seven at that point. They responded well. They buckled down.
:10:18. > :10:19.They have thrown everything at the challenge of getting back the World
:10:20. > :10:24.Championships and qualifying for the Paralympics. Sport Scotland stepped
:10:25. > :10:28.in with some money and against all the odds, they defied expectations
:10:29. > :10:33.to secure their place of the 2080 Winter Paralympics late last year.
:10:34. > :10:36.This man is one of the new members of the squad keen to show what he
:10:37. > :10:42.can do on the sport's bigger stage after an unlikely introduction to
:10:43. > :10:46.curling. I was in a bubbling dominoes in a wheelchair and the
:10:47. > :10:52.coach asked me if I'd ever tried wheelchair curling and I said, no. I
:10:53. > :10:56.didn't know it existed. But I loved it. I played rugby growing up and
:10:57. > :11:06.being in a wheelchair, I missed that. Dominoes wasn't really
:11:07. > :11:10.fulfilling it. Angie Malone has competed in all three Paralympics in
:11:11. > :11:16.the sport's debut. After winning bronze and silver, only one colour
:11:17. > :11:21.will do in Pyeongchang. We had such an exciting time in Sochi, coming
:11:22. > :11:24.back with a bronze. We want to go out to Pyeongchang let the rest of
:11:25. > :11:29.the world know what a great team we are. We are confident belief we can
:11:30. > :11:39.be on the podium. So we are going for the big medal. Still to come...
:11:40. > :11:45.We meet two of GB's leading prospects in one of the game's most
:11:46. > :11:50.exciting new sports, snowboarding. British troops injured in active
:11:51. > :11:54.service tell us about their bid to end GB's 20 years of absence from
:11:55. > :12:00.Nordic skiing. And Germany's five-time Olympic champion gives us
:12:01. > :12:08.a guide to skiing head of her bid to make more history. The first to the
:12:09. > :12:11.hosts of the last games, Russia. Despite holding what was arguably
:12:12. > :12:16.the greatest Winter Paralympics of all time, the country's reputation
:12:17. > :12:20.has nosedived recently. Following the McLaren report commissioned by
:12:21. > :12:25.the world anti-doping agency, Russia was banned from some sports at the
:12:26. > :12:29.2016 Olympics. The International Paralympic committee took an even
:12:30. > :12:33.bolder stance, excluding gold Russian athletes from the real
:12:34. > :12:36.Paralympics. The report alleged their country had operated a
:12:37. > :12:39.state-sponsored doping programme. Further revelations have since been
:12:40. > :12:43.revealed, claiming that over thousand Russian athletes they have
:12:44. > :12:49.benefited from cheating in events across London 2012 and the Sochi
:12:50. > :12:53.2014 games. Russia remains unable to compete in five of the six Winter
:12:54. > :12:56.Paralympic sports. The question is whether they'll be allowed back in
:12:57. > :13:02.full for the Pyeongchang games. I asked their president. There has to
:13:03. > :13:06.be a transformation in the manner in which the nation looks at our sport.
:13:07. > :13:09.We have laid a certain conditions and there's a lot of activity and
:13:10. > :13:16.energy being put into getting things right and back to normality, if I
:13:17. > :13:19.can put it that way. Sochi was a bigger games and it is somewhat
:13:20. > :13:26.tarnished because of what has come up with the McLaren report. I can
:13:27. > :13:32.understand that. We got this terrible news and we knew nothing of
:13:33. > :13:35.it. It was all new to us. I still have fond memories of Sochi, but
:13:36. > :13:42.most certainly what has happened has tarnished it. How confident are you
:13:43. > :13:46.Russia will be there in Pyeongchang? I'm not looking for someone to get
:13:47. > :13:49.down on their knees and say sorry, I think it's been most people accept
:13:50. > :13:54.occurred. Letters fix it and move on. Russia is a great sporting
:13:55. > :14:01.nation. They are missed in the sporting sense of honour but we
:14:02. > :14:04.can't have nations competing when their performances have been
:14:05. > :14:08.tarnished by what has gone on. Letters wipe the slate clean if we
:14:09. > :14:15.can and ensure it never happens again. Evolving sports and adding
:14:16. > :14:20.new event is vital to the growth of the games and freestyle snowboarding
:14:21. > :14:24.has been huge for the Olympics. For the Paralympics, snowboarding came
:14:25. > :14:29.before Sochi, but there were no GB competitors. But we now possess some
:14:30. > :14:34.of the best in the world. Then more won a world silver and bronze in
:14:35. > :14:38.2015 and finished third at this year's competition. His team mate
:14:39. > :14:41.had to be a little more patient, but has now made his breakthrough with
:14:42. > :14:46.World Championship and World Cup silver medals in the last two
:14:47. > :14:50.months. But their journey toward the snowboarding summit has been far
:14:51. > :14:59.from smooth. I used to be in the Army. I was deployed to Afghanistan
:15:00. > :15:05.at age 18. I had my leg smashed apart. They spent 18 months
:15:06. > :15:13.operating on it and it did not work. I was not my motorcycle a decade
:15:14. > :15:18.ago. I bounced down the road and lost the use of my arm. They said in
:15:19. > :15:22.the end, you can deal with it or you can get rid of it and at that point,
:15:23. > :15:27.I was tired of operations, so I decided to have it off below the
:15:28. > :15:34.knee. And now I've never looked back. It has completely changed my
:15:35. > :15:38.life. I've always been quite competitive and I love getting
:15:39. > :15:42.better at things, so for me it was OK, I've lost my leg, now I've got
:15:43. > :15:47.to learn to walk and as soon as I've done that I will do something else.
:15:48. > :15:51.Snowboarding it progressing to the crazy rate. Sochi was a big one.
:15:52. > :15:58.They had above is raising and below knees. Off the back of that, they've
:15:59. > :16:09.now got three categories. We've got upper limb. I am in the upper limb
:16:10. > :16:15.category, so anyone with an issue upwards from the waste will be
:16:16. > :16:20.classed enough. I do have my armour, the reason why it is in this sling
:16:21. > :16:34.is because it keeps it from moving around and putting me off balance.
:16:35. > :16:37.Davitt in the Paralympics is abused. Snowboarding is about being stylish
:16:38. > :16:46.and we'll do things to keep our own style. New Riders pop up everywhere.
:16:47. > :16:59.There were lots of people made aware of snowboarding from the games. It
:17:00. > :17:06.is mind blowing. We can ride the same course as everyone else. Can
:17:07. > :17:14.you sum up what a gold would mean to you? I can -- I think you can see
:17:15. > :17:19.why the look on my face it would mean the world to me. I get to
:17:20. > :17:24.represent my country and to have a gold medal would sum up my
:17:25. > :17:31.snowboarding career. I've got a lot of pressure on us now. There's more
:17:32. > :17:36.people on the teams and it all helps. If we can get medals, it will
:17:37. > :17:40.be massive and open up so many more ways and getting more new people
:17:41. > :17:45.involved. The bigger and better against, the fun it becomes. The
:17:46. > :17:49.Pyeongchang Paralympics will just be about the British athletes. There
:17:50. > :17:54.are colours International stores looking to challenge for multiple
:17:55. > :18:05.and Germany's athletes are among them. I am from Germany and I am a
:18:06. > :18:09.Paralympic champion. I love skiing the Gazette is fast and when I get
:18:10. > :18:36.out I feel a lot of the journalling. When you ski, you have to push your
:18:37. > :18:42.trip into the snow and you can see how it goes into the snow and you
:18:43. > :18:47.can make your turn. The sport has developed a lot. The first games
:18:48. > :18:52.were in Vancouver and for me, it was a great event. But when I compare it
:18:53. > :18:55.to Sochi, it was bigger. You had a lot more TV stations and lot more
:18:56. > :19:12.crowds. When the snow is a little bumpy,
:19:13. > :19:19.Sochi was magnificent. I came there and knew it was possible for me to
:19:20. > :19:23.win. But I had a lot of pressure. I was so happy when I won the first
:19:24. > :19:31.gold medal and I said, now I have eight kilos left. The hardest thing
:19:32. > :19:35.is to have the balance. We have crutches in both hands, so I can
:19:36. > :19:41.stabilise myself. These would not be good for skiing, so I can push in. I
:19:42. > :19:46.have another little ski and that makes it better. Pyeongchang is
:19:47. > :19:52.important to me and I look forward to it. There is now even more
:19:53. > :19:56.pressure for me. It is very difficult, but on the other hand, I
:19:57. > :20:03.want to be in this position and have the pleasure and have this
:20:04. > :20:09.achievement. It feels very cool and things that happened in Sochi, it's
:20:10. > :20:13.something I want to do again. She has every chance. She won three gold
:20:14. > :20:18.medals earlier this year, although her arch rival took the other two,
:20:19. > :20:22.their battle for Paralympic honours could be one of the highlights of
:20:23. > :20:29.the 2018 games. Another of the ones to watch includes this snowboarder
:20:30. > :20:33.from the Netherlands when a Paralympic gold medal. Away from the
:20:34. > :20:37.slopes, one of the most exciting sports to look out for his Paradise
:20:38. > :20:41.hockey. Previously known as sledge hockey. There will be no British
:20:42. > :20:46.team because they failed to qualify. But the USA will be those to beat
:20:47. > :20:47.having won three of the last four Paralympic games. And finally Nordic
:20:48. > :21:01.skiing. This happily took silver and bronze
:21:02. > :21:07.in Sochi but is expected to challenge for gold next year. On the
:21:08. > :21:13.mend's side, Canada will be looking to add to their Paralympic titles.
:21:14. > :21:20.But has not had a Nordic skiers competing since 1998 in Japan. But a
:21:21. > :21:32.group of injured British troops are hoping to end that. It is a hard
:21:33. > :21:36.sport. Everything is full and flat out. If you don't do the training,
:21:37. > :21:42.you get found out very quickly. You are maxed out all the time. Your
:21:43. > :21:44.lungs are on fire. In their words, is a sport that separates the men
:21:45. > :21:49.are from the boys. Overcoming adversity is nothing new to these
:21:50. > :21:58.two men who were both injured whilst on patrol in Afghanistan in 2011. I
:21:59. > :22:07.stepped on an improvised explosive device planted in the ground. We did
:22:08. > :22:14.that while we were carrying out such operations. In the blast, I lost
:22:15. > :22:18.both my legs above the knee. I managed to treat myself at the
:22:19. > :22:24.beginning, I was awake to be made to sleep and then I awoke in camp
:22:25. > :22:30.Bastian awoke about the flight home. So I can picture every stage of it.
:22:31. > :22:36.It was a tough time. You go from being a super Abel and super strong
:22:37. > :22:40.and capable soldier and then all of a sudden you're in bed for four mums
:22:41. > :22:45.having to be fed and having people did the most basic tasks for you. It
:22:46. > :22:50.was very tough mentally to deal with that. Once you get injured, you're
:22:51. > :22:54.full of tumblers and starts button a bit of weight I do feel pretty
:22:55. > :23:04.rubbish. And then, things start to change. In my recovery I was
:23:05. > :23:12.introduced to those opportunities -- various opportunities. Sport became
:23:13. > :23:15.the catalyst for rediscovering what I could do instead of worrying about
:23:16. > :23:24.how I couldn't get up and down stairs. Now I could go down the ski
:23:25. > :23:27.slope. This man was part of the 1998 team, the last British athletes to
:23:28. > :23:31.compete in Nordic skiing events at the Paralympics. He was going to
:23:32. > :23:36.coach the new recruits, but GB selectors had other ideas. They saw
:23:37. > :23:40.me skiing as said, no you should be giving us advice, you should try for
:23:41. > :23:44.it again and that is why I have ended up here. It really is an
:23:45. > :23:50.honour and to compete for the country. I have a token medal for
:23:51. > :23:56.being at the 1998 Paralympics, but what I want to do is to get a
:23:57. > :24:02.bronze, silver or main aim. The ultimate goal is Pyeongchang. I've
:24:03. > :24:10.not come here for a laugh. It is a chance to redefine yourself.
:24:11. > :24:16.It is a difficult ball but very rewarding. I would love to be part
:24:17. > :24:23.of a legacy and move it on for Great Britain. With a year to go until the
:24:24. > :24:26.Winter Paralympics it is clear Britain are the potential to win any
:24:27. > :24:32.medals in Pyeongchang. And GB's best ever haul was ten Baqubah 1984 games
:24:33. > :24:35.and to get anywhere close to that would be an incredible achievement
:24:36. > :24:39.given the strength of international competition compared to them. But
:24:40. > :24:42.achieving a record total is far from impossible and we will keep you
:24:43. > :24:46.up-to-date with all the latest over the next 12 months as the athletes
:24:47. > :24:57.continue on their path to Pyeongchang.