The Russian Federation’s flag was today raised in the Paralympic Village in Whistler, the day before the Opening Ceremony of Х Paralympic Winter Games.

Officially marking the arrival of the Russian delegation at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, the flag raising ceremony traditionally features speeches by the mayor of the Paralympic village and the heads of each sport’s delegation. The event also included the exchange of memorable souvenirs.

In a ceremony to commemorate the occasion, the Russian Paralympic Team received messages of good luck from leaders of the Russian Paralympic Movement ahead of the start of competition. The Russian Volunteer Team – a group that came to Canada to work at the Paralympic Games – participated in the event.

The President of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) and Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia, Vladimir Lukin; General Secretary of the Russian Paralympic Committee and seven-time Paralympic medalist, Mikhail Terentiev; Head of the Russian delegation at the 2010 Paralympic Games and first Vice President of the Russian Paralympic Committee, Pavel Rozhkov; and representatives of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee were all in attendance at the event.

Following the ceremony, the Russian athletes continued their final training before competition.

Sochi 2014 President and CEO Dmitry Chernyshenko said:

“Only a few hours remain before the start of the Paralympic Games. I would like to wish Russian athletes the best of luck for their competitions during the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. They, and Paralympians from across the world, are a true example of triumph over difficult circumstances and a powerful inspiration for people across Russia and the world.”

On March 12, the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games 2010 will take place in the Vancouver main arena: the BC Place Stadium. The flag bearer of the Russian Paralympic team will be the 55-year old nine-time Paralympic cross country skiing Champion, Valeriy Kupchinsky.