[1] The 2014 Winter Paralympics were held from 7–16 March 2014, in Sochi, Russia; 45 countries and 547 athletes took part in the multi-sport event.

[5] Every participant at the Paralympics has their disability grouped into one of five disability categories: amputation, the condition may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes, though there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment, including blindness; and Les Autres, any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, like dwarfism or multiple sclerosis.

[10] He suffers from an acquired spinal cord injury obtained in a motorcycle accident 20 years before the Sochi Paralympics,[3] and is classified LW10-1, meaning he competes in a sitting position.

[11] LW10 classified athletes have "no or minimal trunk stability, for example due to spinal cord injuries or spina bifida.

"[8] Kalaras previously won a silver medal in the discus throw at the 2004 Summer Paralympics.