The main objective of the initiative, known as "Our Champion", is to promote the Russian Paralympic team and to improve public recognition for athletes with a disability who live in different regions of the country.

The "Our Champion" programme will enable the residents of different Russian regions to learn more about their fellow-countrymen who have overcome adversity and excelled in reaching the winner's podium at Russian and international sports events.

The first athlete to receive the "Our Champion" title was Aleksey Ashapatov, Paralympic champion and record-breaker in the F57/58 shot put at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games and a resident of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous District.

A commemorative certificate was presented to him by Mikhail Terentiev, a Paralympic champion in cross country skiing at Salt Lake City in 2002 and the general secretary of the Russian Paralympic Committee.

As part of the "Our Champion" Project, Ashapatov met local school pupils from Khanty-Mansiysk.

The children were taught about Paralympic sport and the Sochi 2014 volunteers introduced them to the mascots for the Games.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, the Sochi 2014 President and chief executive, said: "During the preparations for the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, we are trying to change the attitude of the Russian public towards people living with a disability.

"I hope that the 'Our Champion' project will evoke a response in the hearts of all Russians, and that the World Championship itself will be very successful."

Terentiev , said: " I am confident that the whole country will learn from the experience of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous District and that the Games in Sochi will be a success."