2026 Winter Paralympics: A primer

The basics

The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games are underway in northern Italy, running from Friday to March 15, 2026. The Games mark the 50th anniversary of the Winter Paralympics and are the third Paralympic Games hosted by Italy, following the 1960 Summer Paralympics in Rome (the inaugural Paralympic Games) and the 2006 Winter Games in Turin.

Some competition, including wheelchair curling, began as early as Wednesday, ahead of the official Opening Ceremony.

Opening and closing ceremonies

Opening ceremony:

Friday at the Arena di Verona, a Roman amphitheatre built in the first century and renovated ahead of the Games to improve accessibility. Miky Bionic, widely described as the world’s first DJ with a bionic hand, performed during the ceremony.

Closing ceremony:

March 15, 2026 at the Cortina Olympic Ice Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the same venue that hosted the Opening Ceremony of the 1956 Olympic Winter Games.

The sports

Six sports are contested across 79 medal events:

Para Alpine Skiing: Athletes race downhill at speeds exceeding 100 km/h. Three categories: Standing, Sitting, and Visually Impaired (with a sighted guide). Thirty medal events are contested. The sport has been part of every Winter Paralympics since 1976.

Para Biathlon: Combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting. Athletes compete in standing, sitting, and visually impaired categories.

Para Cross-Country Skiing: Endurance races across varied terrain in the same three categories as biathlon.

Para Ice Hockey (Sled Hockey): Players use a two-bladed sled and two sticks to propel themselves and shoot. The sport is open to athletes with permanent impairments affecting one or both legs. One tournament featuring eight teams, with the gold medal game scheduled for March 15.

Para Snowboard: Held at the Cortina Para Snowboard Park. Events include banked slalom and snowboard cross, with competition scheduled for Saturday, Sunday and March 14.

Wheelchair Curling: Two events: mixed team and mixed doubles, the latter making its Paralympic debut in 2026. Athletes must have a permanent impairment affecting one or both legs. Competition began Wednesday, before the Opening Ceremony.

Athletes and nations

Approximately 665 athletes from around the world are competing in the Games.

Five National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) are making their Winter Paralympic debut.

Team USA sent 72 athletes, five more than the American contingent that competed at the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics.

U.S. athletes to watch

Oksana Masters: The most decorated U.S. Winter Paralympian, with 14 Winter Paralympic medals. She won seven medals across seven events at the Beijing 2022 Games.

Brenna Huckaby: Para snowboarder and three-time Paralympic gold medalist. She had her leg amputated at age 14 after being diagnosed with bone cancer before taking up snowboarding.

Declan Farmer: Captain of the U.S. Para ice hockey team and a three-time Paralympic gold medalist. He joined the national team at age 14.

Joshua Sweeney: A Marine Corps veteran and Purple Heart recipient who lost both legs to an IED in Afghanistan. He won a gold medal in Para ice hockey at the 2014 Sochi Paralympics.

Steve Emt and Laura Dwyer: Members of the U.S. mixed doubles wheelchair curling team. Emt, 56, is the oldest athlete on the U.S. roster.

Classification system

To ensure competitive fairness, all Paralympic athletes undergo a classification process that determines eligibility and groups competitors by the nature and severity of their impairments.

Depending on the sport, athletes may compete within separate classes or against one another using a factored time system, where each sport class is assigned a mathematical factor designed to level the playing field.

Torch relay

The Paralympic Flame was lit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in the United Kingdom, widely considered the birthplace of the Paralympic movement.

The torch relay featured 501 torchbearers carrying the flame 2,000 kilometers across Italy, passing through cities including Cortina d’Ampezzo, Venice, Padua and Milan before arriving at the Arena di Verona for the Opening Ceremony on Friday.

Controversy: Russia and Belarus

Several delegations boycotted the Opening Ceremony in protest of the International Paralympic Committee’s decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags.

Organizers said all National Paralympic Committees would still be represented in the Parade of Nations, using volunteer flag bearers and video presentations for delegations that chose not to attend.

How to watch (U.S.)

Coverage airs on NBC, USA Network, CNBC and Peacock.