The Paralympics come at you fast. To navigate them as a fan, you have to think like a downhill skier: Scout the course in advance so you can anticipate the twists and turns. With that objective in mind, we’ve highlighted some of the key stories that will unfold during the nine days of competition in Italy. Happy watching!
US Hockey Seeks Five-peat
Team USA will be seeking an unprecedented fifth consecutive gold medal in sled hockey. The main competition will likely come from Canada, which beat the US in the finals of the 2024 World Para Ice Hockey Championships and made the gold-medal match in the 2018 and 2022 Paralympics. The Chinese and Czechs could also make some noise in the tournament.
Easy Come, Easy G.O.A.T.
When the first Winter Paralympics were held 50 years ago, the United States only sent one athlete (skier Bill Hovanic) and won no medals. In the ensuing 12 Winter Paralympics, Americans have brought home 333 medals, the third-highest total of any nation. The US team almost surely will surpass Norway, which currently sits in second place with 334 medals. And it has an outside chance to move past Austria and reach the top of the all-time medal table. Team USA enters the 2026 Games trailing by 12 medals, but it has outperformed Austria at every Winter Paralympics in this century—twice by a margin of 12 or more medals.
US Skiers Face Uphill Climb
From 1980 through 2006, American paraskiers never finished lower than third in the Paralympic skiing medal count. That run included four consecutive first-place finishes. But over the last three Games the US has tumbled toward the back of the pack, hitting rock bottom in 2022 with just one podium finish (by Thomas Walsh) in downhill skiing. Hopes are high for a resurgence in 2026 behind medal-winning veterans such as Laurie Stephens and Andrew Kurka, plus newcomers Kelsey O’Driscoll and Audrey Crowley.
Snowboard Competition Gets Stiffer
When parasnowboarding debuted at the 2018 Games, a dominant US team won half the available gold medals and made the podium in all but one event. But things were different in 2022, as injuries, COVID, and a strong showing by the host Chinese limited American snowboarders to just four medals and a single gold. Team France has since emerged as another impressive competitor, but the US roster remains formidable.
Masters Dealt a Tough Hand
Oksana Masters has won more Winter Paralympic medals (14) in her career than any American athlete. Seven of those (three golds, four silvers) came at the 2022 Games in Beijing. But if her run of dominance in Nordic skiing is to continue, Masters will need to make a speedy recovery from surgery to repair ligaments in her right hand this past July. Her most formidable competitive gift—her iron will—remains uninjured. Will that be enough to return Masters to the podium?
Twice as Nice in Curling
The United States has never won a Paralympic medal in wheelchair curling, which debuted at the 2006 Winter Games in Vancouver. But the addition of a new event (mixed doubles) in 2026 gives Team USA an opportunity for a fresh start. Paralympic veteran Steve Emt and first-timer Laura Dwyer will represent the US in the new discipline.
