North Korea To Attend World Para Nordic Skiing Championships

Nov 16, 2018 | 2:46 PM

PRINCE GEORGE — When the world comes to Prince George in February for the 2019 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships, there will be a handful of countries attending the event for the very first time.

While countries like Armenia, Tajikistan, and Iran are on the list, the one that stands out is North Korea.

The nation already made history this year by sending two para-athletes to the 2018 Winter Paralympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. This was in addition to the ten athletes they sent to the Olympics.

While no athletes came home with medals, the step clearly created some momentum as the nation is now prepared to send athletes to Prince George this winter to compete.

“They’ll be an independent team, but as we saw in the Olympics, there were lots of great collaborations there with North and South Korea. It’s amazing with sporting events how it helps bring countries together. It’s kind of the ongoing story from the Olympics I think, what we saw of the collaboration between North and South Korea, we’re just so excited to see them come and be a part of this,” says Kevin Pettersen, Organizing Committee Chair

Pettersen adds that because North Korea competed in the Paralympics this year and have registered early for the event, their chances of attending the World Para Nordic Skiing Championships are very good.

If the athletes qualify, they will be among the approximate 140 athletes from more than 20 countries making their way to Prince George for the biennial event.

The 2019 Championships will take place at Caledonia Nordic Ski Club from February 15th to 24th after three qualifying events during December and January in Finland, America, and Sweden.

 

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