The 14th edition of the Winter Paralympics kicks off March 6 and concludes March 15 in Milano Cortina – a milestone edition marking 50 years since the first Paralympic Winter Games were held in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden in 1976. Here’s everything you need to know to follow along.
The Basics
Over ten days of competition, athletes will compete across 6 sports and 79 total events.
para alpine skiing 🎿
Para alpine skiing features five disciplines – downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and super combined – each contested across three categories: standing, sitting, and visually impaired. A "factor system" adjusts each athlete's time based on the severity of their impairment, leveling the playing field across classifications.
Para Biathlon 🎯
Like its Olympic counterpart, para biathlon combines cross-country skiing with target shooting. One difference: athletes don't carry their rifles while skiing, picking them up instead at the shooting range. Competition also runs across standing, sitting, and visually impaired categories.
Para Snowboard 🏂
The newest winter sport on the Paralympic program, introduced at Sochi 2014, para snowboard offers eight events across two disciplines: banked slalom and snowboard cross. Athletes compete in three classifications: SB-UL for upper-limb impairments, and SB-LL1 or SB-LL2 for lower-limb impairments, with prosthetics and adaptive equipment permitted.
Para Cross-Country Skiing ❄️
Cross-country events include 1.5km sprints as well as 10km and 20km races, plus two relay events, with standing, sitting, and visually impaired skiers all competing. The 20km distance marks a milestone for gender parity: men previously raced 20km at the Paralympics while women did not.
Wheelchair Curling 🥌
If you loved Olympic curling, the wheelchair version takes precision to another level. There's no sweeping – every throw must be that much more exact. Athletes also use an extendable stick to push and rotate the stone rather than sliding it by hand. This year also brings an event debut: mixed doubles wheelchair curling joins the program alongside the traditional mixed team event.
Para Ice Hockey 🏒
Para ice hockey (sled hockey) remains a male-dominated event at the Games, though teams can expand their roster to 14 players by including one or more female athletes. The sport is pushing for a standalone women's competition by 2030 – gaining momentum since 2025 when the first-ever Women's Para Ice Hockey World Championships was held.
STORYLINES TO WATCH 👀
💪 Oksana Masters, USA’s most decorated Winter Paralympian of all time, has 19 Paralympic medals and will be looking to extend her record medal count in Italy.
🏂 Snowboarder Brenna Huckaby has four Paralympic medals (three golds) and will be appearing in her third Winter Paralympics in Milan, where she could break the record for most-decorated female Paralympic snowboarder.
🦮 Carina Edlinger and her guide dog Riley stole the show at Beijing 2022 when she presented her canine partner with a custom medal after winning bronze. This year, Edlinger is coming in as a favorite, and the duo may be primed for another podium moment in Milano Cortina.
🥌 Wheelchair curling made its Paralympic debut at the 2006 Games, but the United States has never won a medal of any color in the sport. Athletes Oyuna Uranchimeg and Laura Dwyer will be looking to get Team USA their first spot on the podium.
🥇 Team USA finished at the top the medal table at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games with the most gold medals (13) and overall medals (36). But, at the 2022 Beijing Games, the U.S. finished fifth. Will they get back to the top at these Games?
HOW TO TUNE IN 📺
In the United States, fans can watch across NBCU, Peacock, USA Network, CNBC, and NBCSports. See the full schedule of events HERE.