IBSF Para Sport European Championships

The IBSF Para Sport European Championships are the official European championship events for para bobsleigh, organized by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF). The championships are open to European athletes with physical impairments and are held annually at rotating venues. They are the first continental championships in the discipline.

The championships serve as the highest level of continental competition for para sliding sports. They play a critical role in the campaign for inclusion in the Paralympic Games, with the IBSF aiming for full recognition by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for future editions along with the IBSF Para Sport World Championships and the IBSF Para Sport World Cup events.

History of the sport

Para bobsleigh is an adapted discipline of bobsleigh designed for athletes with physical impairments. It features solo competition in modified monobob sleds, raced down ice tracks at speeds exceeding 130 km/h, with athletes experiencing forces of up to 5G in corners.

The sport emerged in the early 2000s, with athletes such as Aaron Lanningham and Gary Kuhl completing successful runs in Park City, Utah. Kuhl notably competed against able-bodied athletes in America Cup races.

In 2010, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) formally endorsed para bobsleigh, establishing a Para Sport Committee to oversee its development and advocate for Paralympic inclusion.

The first standardized para monobob sled was developed by Renzo Podar and driven by Swiss Paralympic champion Heinz Frei. The inaugural international competition, the Prince Kropotkin Cup, was held in Sigulda, Latvia in 2013.

Equipment and format

Para bobsleigh uses a single-person sled known as a monobob, adapted for seated starts and hand steering. Mechanical launchers were introduced to simulate the running start used in able-bodied bobsleigh, ensuring competitive fairness.

Athletes compete individually, and races are timed to the hundredth of a second. The sport emphasizes precision, control, and upper-body strength.

History of the European Championships The inaugural IBSF Para Sport European Championships were held in January 2017 in Oberhof, Germany, a year after the inaugural World Championships, featuring 19 athletes from 9 nations. The event marked the first formal European continental competition for para bobsleigh athletes. The championships have never to date featured para skeleton.

Medalists

Bobsleigh The first IBSF Para Sport European Championships event was held in 2017 and has been held annually ever since, with the 2020 event actually being held in December 2019. Three sliders; Jonas Frei of Switzerland, Corie Mapp of Great Britain and Arturs Klots of Latvia have won the championship twice as of 2025, with Mapp's seven podium finishes the record for a single slider.

Each championship is in the monobob format.

2017 OberhofJanuary 2017 2018 InnsbruckJanuary 2018 2019 St. MoritzFebruary 2019 2020 OberhofDecember 2019* 2021 La PlagneMarch 2021 2022 St. Moritz March 2022 2023 Innsbruck January 2023 2024 Lillehammer March 2024 2025 SiguldaJanuary 2025 2026 Sigulda January 2026

Medal table

Multiple medalists No.AthleteNation Years GoldSilverBronzeTotal1Corie Mapp2017-24172Arturs Klots2017-20353Jonas Frei2022-20024Christopher Stewart2019-12145Sebastian Westin2019-10126Nikolai Johann2019-0123

IBSF Para Sport European Championships

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