Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics Torch Relay Begins

The U.S. athletes for the Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang enter the athletes' village in the alpine city, Gangwon Province on Sunday. /Yonhap

The torch relay for the Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang kicked off its 2,018-km journey last week. Flames lit in five places in Korea and Britain's Stoke Mandeville, the birthplace of the Paralympics, were gathered in Seoul on Saturday, and the torch traveled across the capital the next day.

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Some 148 torch bearers ran 67.9 km in Seoul on Sunday. The torch will travel through major cities in Gangwon Province, including Chuncheon, Gangneung, Jeongseon and Wonju until the opening of the Paralymics this Friday.

Athletes from the Czech Republic and the U.S. arrived at the athletes' village in Pyeongchang on Sunday. The U.S. sent some 68 athletes, the largest group among the participating countries.

The largest number of Koreans will compete in the Paralympics with a total of 83 participants including 36 athletes.

Korea has won two silver medals at the Winter Paralympics -- in the men's giant slalom sitting at the 2002 Paralympics in Salt Lake City, and in wheelchair curling at the 2010 Paralympics in Vancouver.

This time, Sin Eui-hyun is expected to win the country's first medal in Nordic skiing. The ice hockey team and the wheelchair curling team are also in the hunt for medals.