Slushy snow and T-shirts as Winter Paralympics feels the heat

Canada's Natalie Wilkie celebrates after crossing the finishing line -- wearing short sleeves

Cross-country skiers ploughed through slushy snow wearing T-shirts on day five of the Beijing Winter Paralympics Wednesday as spring-like weather pushed temperatures well above freezing.

The warm spell caught some athletes off guard on the largely man-made snow at the Zhangjiakou cross-country event where six gold medals were up for grabs.

This time it was the opposite problem. 

Up on the slopes temperatures were about 10 degrees cooler, but still well above freezing as the artificial snow began to melt.

"You pull and you feel like you're stuck in glue," said Skarstein, who raced in short sleeves.

For Canadian visually impaired cross-country skier Brian McKeever, 43, who won his 15th Paralympic gold medal, the conditions proved advantageous.

"This is more about finesse."

French gold medallist Benjamin Daviet, who won the men's standing event, said the conditions also worked in his favour.

Paralympians recalled that they had endured similar warm weather at Pyeongchang 2018 and Sochi 2014.

Organisers told AFP that, along with strong winds, "the temperature is projected to be higher than that in the same period of previous years".

- 'Grind fest' -

It was becoming a "grind fest", he said.

"It's slowing everyone down. For people with less function, they're not using their abs, they're not using their back, they're not throwing their body into all the pull strokes, they are just using their arms. 

At the wheelchair curling there were dramatic scenes during Canada's win against Britain when one player fell from his wheelchair and had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher.

He received initial first aid from the team's nurse and physio.

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Originally published as Slushy snow and T-shirts as Winter Paralympics feels the heat