SOCHI, March 16, /ITAR-TASS/. Nine sets of medals in cross-country skiing and alpine skiing will be at stake on the last day of the Sochi Paralympic Games, and after the final competitions end Sochi will see a spectacular closing ceremony.

Skiers will compete for medals in the last six events. Men’s 10km free, standing will begin at 10 am, Moscow time. Eight Russian skiers take part in the race, including Alexander Pronkov, Azat Karachurin, Aleksandr Iaremchuk, Sergey Lapkin, Kirill Mikhaylov, Vladimir Kononov, Vladislav Lekomtcev and Rushan Minnegulov. Karachurin, Lekomtcev, Mikhailov and Minnegulov already have their gold medals in Sochi and will be the main contenders in the last race as well.

Men’s 10km free for visually impaired will begin at 10:20 featuring Vladimir Udaltcov, Aleksander Artemov, Oleg Pomonarev, Stanislav Chokhlaev and Nikolay Polukhin, who is a three-time Paralympic champion.

Woman’s 5km free, standing will begin at 11:23. Natalia Bratiuk, Anna Milenina and Alena Kaufman are the favorites in it.

Women’s 5km free for visually impaired will start at 11:40. Running in it are Russian athletes Mikhalina Lysova, Elena Remizova and Iuliia Budaleeva.

Akzhana Abdikarimova, Maria Iovleva, Svetlana Konovalova and Marta Zaynullina will compete in women’s 5km, sitting, that will begin at 12:30. The main hero of Sochi Paralympics, Roman Petushkov who has already grabbed six gold medals in the sitting category, takes part in men’s 10km, sitting, that begins at 12:45.

The alpine skiing programme of the Paralympic Games will end with women’s giant slalom in three categories - athletes will have two runs. Aleksandra Frantceva will compete for gold in women’s giant slalom for visually impaired, in two runs held at 09:30 and 13:00. Inga Medvedeva, Mariia Papulova and Anastasia Khorosheva will perform in women’s giant slalom, standing, at 09:55 and 13:15. There are no Russian athletes in the sitting category (10:35, 13:45).

The last large-scale event of the Paralympic Games is the Closing Ceremony that will begin at 20:14 on Sunday. The athletes take part in a parade and the spectators will once again experience the exiting atmosphere of the Games.