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Many in ParaGB at the Winter Paralympics are injured military veterans – why is snow so good for rehab?

The Winter Paralympics are under way in Beijing, featuring a host of daredevils who ski, board and sometimes crash down mountains.

A large portion of ParalympicsGB is made up of military veterans who were wounded or became ill during active service. They took up the sports as novices through the Armed Forces Para-Snowsport Team (AFPST).

So why is snow so good for rehab? And what skills will they be sharing now the Olympic team has come calling, and want to work with them?

Elizabeth Winfield and Simon Allanson from AFPST reveal all, along with Jonny Huntington who experienced a brain bleed in 2014 and took up skiing afterwards. He’s also hoping to become the first disabled person to travel from Antarctica to the South Pole, solo.

With Beth Rose.

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26 minutes

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