From a 19-time world champ to Monster Mike: US athletes to watch at the 2026 Winter Paralympics
#Winter Paralympics 2026 #US Paralympic team #Adaptive sports #Medal contenders #Disabled athletes #Paralympic achievements #Alpine skiing #Snowboarding
📌 Key Takeaways
- US Paralympic team aims to improve upon fifth-place finish from 2022 Winter Paralympics
- Audrey Crowley, a 19-year-old Alpine skier, has shown remarkable potential with recent podium finishes
- Biathlon and cross-country skiing feature multiple medal contenders including Jake Adicoff and Oksana Masters
- Snowboarding team includes decorated athletes like Noah Elliott and Brenna Huckaby who have overcome significant challenges
📖 Full Retelling
American Paralympic athletes are preparing for the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Italy, where a strong team will look to improve upon their fifth-place finish in the medal table from the 2022 Games. The team features a diverse roster of accomplished athletes across multiple disciplines, from Alpine skiing to ice hockey, each with compelling stories of resilience and achievement. Among the standout athletes is Audrey Crowley, a 19-year-old Alpine skier who has already made headlines since elementary school. Despite being born without her lower right arm, she has excelled in skiing, recently reaching the podium in two World Cup downhill races in early February 2025. In the 2024-25 season, she secured two World Cup podium finishes in giant slalom and earned bronze in the same event at world championships. Her versatility extends beyond skiing, as she was also an honorable mention All-State softball player in Colorado. In biathlon and cross-country skiing, the US team boasts several medal contenders. Jake Adicoff, who took silver at the 2018 Paralympics before briefly retiring, returned to win two more silvers and a relay gold in 2022. The 2024 World Cup overall champion has an impressive world championship record with nine medals from nine races. Oksana Masters, a 14-year Paralympic veteran, is seeking her 20th Paralympic medal and 10th gold. Despite missing the 2024-25 season due to a bone infection, she returned to dominate World Cup competition, finishing no lower than second in any individual cross-country event. Kendall Gretsch, who has 34 world championship medals including 19 gold across three sports, is another strong contender, having won a full set of medals in biathlon events at the 2022 Games. The snowboarding team features decorated athletes like Noah Elliott, a 2024-25 World Cup champion and ESPY award winner who won gold and silver at the 2023 world championships. Brenna Huckaby, a three-time Paralympic gold medalist, had to fight through legal battles to compete in 2022 after her classification was changed. Mike Schultz, known as 'Monster Mike,' has developed his own prosthetics after a 2008 accident and won multiple medals in 2018 and 2022. In curling, Steve Emt and Laura Dwyer represent a chance for a breakthrough, as US Paralympians have never won a medal in this event. Declan Farmer, a decorated ice hockey player who became the first US player to score 200 career goals, leads a team that has been dominant in recent world championships despite losing to Canada in 2024.
🏷️ Themes
Paralympic achievement, Overcoming adversity, Athletic excellence
📚 Related People & Topics
Parasports
Sports adapted for players with a disability
Para™ sports refer only to sports that have been officially recognised and regulated by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. Para sports include International Federations that are members of the IPC and feature on the Paralympic program...
Entity Intersection Graph
No entity connections available yet for this article.
Mentioned Entities
Original Source
From a 19-time world champ to Monster Mike: US athletes to watch at the 2026 Winter Paralympics The Americans finished fifth in the medal table in 2022. A strong team will be looking to improve that record in Italy in the coming days Audrey Crowley, Alpine skiing The first-time Paralympian only turned 19 at the start of March, but she has been in the news for her skiing prowess since she was a second-grader. She’s also going to Italy on a roll, having reached the podium in two World Cup downhill races in early February. In the 2024-25 season, she had two World Cup podium finishes in giant slalom, and she took bronze in giant slalom and fifth in slalom at the world championships, where the other three events were canceled. Though she was born without her lower right arm, she was still an honorable mention All-State softball player in Colorado. Jake Adicoff, biathlon/cross-country skiing (visually impaired) In 2018, Adicoff graduated from Bowdoin, where he competed alongside able-bodied athletes on the cross-country ski team, and won silver at the Paralympics in the same year. Then he retired. Three years later, he reconsidered and was back in time to compete in 2022, where he took two more silvers and earned a relay gold with a dramatic anchor leg to rally the team from fourth place to first. The 2024 World Cup overall champion has an uncanny world championship record – nine individual races, nine medals (four gold), including two wins in last year’s events. Oksana Masters, biathlon/cross-country skiing A fixture in both summer and winter Paralympics for 14 years, Masters is looking for her 20th Paralympic medal and 10th gold. In the summer editions, the Ukraine-born athlete has four cycling golds and one rowing bronze. The rest of her medals have come in winter sports – three gold in cross-county, two in biathlon. The 2020 Laureus World Sports Award winner for disability sports missed the 2024-25 season while dealing with a bone infection in her leg but returned to ...
Read full article at source