What happens when at the Winter Paralympics?
#Winter Paralympics #Milan-Cortina 2026 #Para-Alpine skiing #wheelchair curling #Great Britain team #Para-snowboard #Para-biathlon #medal events
📌 Key Takeaways
- Nearly 660 athletes from 50 countries competing for 79 medals across 6 sports
- Great Britain's 25-member team includes both experienced Paralympians and newcomers
- The Games began on March 4th with wheelchair curling, followed by the opening ceremony on March 6th
- The first medals were awarded on March 7th in Para-Alpine skiing events
- The competition features remarkable stories of resilience and determination from athletes worldwide
📖 Full Retelling
The 2026 Winter Paralympics in Milan-Cortina began on March 4th with nearly 660 athletes from 50 countries competing across six sports for 79 medals, featuring Great Britain's 25-member team of seasoned campaigners and talented newcomers in a celebration of athletic excellence and inclusion. The event marks Italy's second time hosting a Paralympic Games following the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Turin, which featured 474 athletes from 38 countries. The competition began with wheelchair curling matches on March 4th, followed by the opening ceremony at the historic Verona Arena on March 6th, where acts including The Police drummer Stewart Copeland and Italian singer Mimi Caruso will perform. The Games feature a mix of established Paralympians and newcomers, with Great Britain's team including experienced competitors like wheelchair curling pair Jo Butterfield and Jason Kean (known as 'Team JJ') and Para-Alpine skier Menna Fitzpatrick, Britain's most decorated Winter Paralympian with six medals. The competition schedule is packed with medal events across multiple venues, with Para-Alpine skiing, Para-biathlon, Para-snowboard, wheelchair curling, Para-cross-country skiing, and Para-ice hockey providing a platform for athletes to demonstrate extraordinary skill and determination. The event not only showcases elite sporting competition but also highlights personal stories of resilience, with athletes like US wheelchair curlers Laura Dwyer and Steve Emt bringing powerful narratives of overcoming life-changing injuries to compete at the highest level.
🏷️ Themes
Paralympic competition, Athletic excellence, Personal stories of resilience
📚 Related People & Topics
Winter Paralympic Games
International multi-sport event for disabled athletes
The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The Winter Paralympic Games are held every four years directl...
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Original Source
What happens when at the Winter Paralympics? By Elizabeth Hudson BBC Sport journalist Published 2 March 2026 Updated 4 March 2026 The Winter Paralympics will feature almost 660 athletes from 50 countries competing for 79 medals at Milan-Cortina. Competitors will take part in six sports - Para-Alpine skiing, Para-biathlon, Para-cross-country skiing, Para-ice hockey, Para-snowboard and wheelchair curling. Great Britain's team features 25 athletes - a mix of seasoned campaigners and talented newcomers. The action started on Wednesday, 4 March with wheelchair curling action before the opening ceremony on Friday, 6 March. Here is your guide to what is happening each day and who to look out for. All times GMT and subject to change. Day 0: Friday, 6 March Daily highlights Great Britain's wheelchair curling mixed doubles pair of Jo Butterfield and Jason Kean (or 'Team JJ' as they call themselves) take on the United States at 08:05 in the fourth of their seven round-robin matches, hoping to build on their first win of the tournament which they achieved against Latvia on Thursday evening. The US team of Laura Dwyer and Steve Emt finished ninth at the last World Championships. Dwyer was working as a landscaper in May 2012 when a tree branch fell from 40ft up, leaving her with a spinal cord injury and paralysed from the waist down. She started wheelchair curling in 2019 and was alternate for the 2022 Games in Beijing before teaming up with Emt two years ago. Emt, then 25, was paralysed in a car crash in 1995 as a result of him drinking and driving. A former basketball player with UConn, he returned to college to do a degree in psychology and became a school teacher and basketball coach. He took up wheelchair curling in 2013 and this is his third Games, having been part of the US mixed team in 2018 and 2022. Emt is also a public speaker, travelling to schools to talk about the dangers of drinking and driving. On Friday evening, the sporting action will pause for the opening cere...
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