Russia at the 2010 Winter Paralympics

Russia at the 2010 Winter Paralympics
IPC code	RUS
NPC	Russian Paralympic Committee
Website	www.paralymp.ru (in Russian)
in Vancouver
Competitors	32 in 3 sports
Flag bearer	Valery Kupchinskii[1]
Medals Ranked 2nd	Gold 12 Silver 16 Bronze 10 Total 38
Winter Paralympics appearances (overview)
1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018–2022
Other related appearances
Soviet Union (1988)  Unified Team (1992)  Neutral Paralympic Athletes (2018)

Russia sent a delegation to compete at the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, Canada. The country fielded thirty-two athletes in cross-country skiing, biathlon, and alpine skiing.^[3] Russia placed second in the final medal standings, though first in the total medal count, winning thirty-eight medals.^[4]

The Moscow Times noted the irony in the fact that there had been high hope for Russia's Winter Olympians, while fairly little attention had been paid to its Paralympians, until their performance stood out with a crop of medals.^[5] While the Moscow Times focused on the difficulties faced by the country's Paralympians in their everyday life, however, the Vancouver Sun remarked: "Unlike Canada and other countries where almost all Paralympians must have jobs, Team Russia's competitors are akin to 'sports professionals'. Most don't work so they can focus solely on their training, which is funded by the state and individual sponsors".^[6] With Sochi being the host city of the 2014 Winter Paralympics, a Russian segment was performed at the closing ceremony.