Key facts on the Paralympics

The 2026 Paralympic Winter Games take place over 10 days from March 6 to 15 across three main locations in northern Italy; Milan, Cortina d'Ampezzo and Val di Fiemme.

Approximately 665 athletes from 56 nations are to compete in 79 medal events across six sports: Para-alpine skiing, Para-biathlon, Para cross-country skiing, Para-ice hockey, Para-snowboard and wheelchair curling. While there are just six sports, each features multiple categories depending on the competing athletes' type and level of disability.

This is the 14th edition of the Paralympic Winter Games and they mark the 50th anniversary of when they were first held in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden. The Winter Games are returning to Italy for a second time, 20 years after Torino in 2006. The Italian capital, Rome, hosted the first Paralympic Summer Games in 1960.

What's new at the 2026 Paralympics?

One new medal event — wheelchair curling mixed doubles — is to be featured for the first time at these Games. It's simply a new variant on wheelchair curling — similar to the mixed doubles curling event in the Winter Olympics, which was added to the list of medal events for PyeongChang in 2018. There has been a World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Curling Championship since 2022 – the current world champions are Scotland.

Five countries, El Salvador, Haiti, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Portugal are sending athletes to the Winter Paralympics for the first time. 

What is the state of play with Russia and Belarus?

Russian ​and Belarusian athletes will be allowed to compete at the Winter Paralympics under their own flags and with their national anthems. This is due to a decision taken at the International Paralympic Committee's (IPC) general assembly last September to lift the ban on the participation of athletes from both countries, which had been imposed after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed a limited number of Russians and Belarusians to compete in last month's Winter Games under a neutral flag. Russia has been granted six wildcard places at the Paralympics in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding — split evenly among men and women — while Belarus' four spots are all in cross-country skiing. 

What's been the reaction?

Several national Paralympic Committees have announced that, due to the IPC's decision to lift the ban on athletes from Russia and Belarus, they will boycott Friday's opening ceremony in Verona Arena. Ukraine was the first to announce a boycott but was followed by others, including Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Poland. Some other countries have announced that their officials would give the ceremony a miss.

On Wednesday, Germany's Paralympic committee announced that its athletes would also stay away but would still take part in pre-recorded segments that are to be broadcast during the opening ceremony. Meanwhile, the DPA news agency has cited an IPC source who said the national flags would be carried by volunteers, instead of athletes, at the ceremony for logistical reasons. 

Who and what to watch at 2026 Paralympics

The biggest star of the Winter Paralympics has to be Oksana Masters, who will be competing in Para-biathlon and Para-cross-country skiing at the 2026 Games. Now 36, the American is competing in her fourth Winter Paralympics and she already has 14 medals — including five gold — to her name. That's not to mention the four gold medals she won in Para-cycling in Tokyo 2020 and Paris in 2024.

Masters also has a compelling back story, having been given up for adoption in her native Ukraine before being adopted by an American, who brought her to the United States as a child. She will also be competing alongside her fiancé, fellow Paralympian Aaron Pike, in Milano Cortina.

Another star to look out for is Para-alpine skier Jesper Pedersen of Norway, who was the only athlete to win four gold medals in Beijing in 2022.

In terms of events to watch, Para-ice hockey has to be at or near the top of the list. Unlike ice hockey at the Olympics, the competition is not split up into men's and women's tournaments, but mixed teams compete in a single bracket.

Like last month's Winter Olympics, where the USA beat Canada in both gold medal games, the two countries are also top seeds in the Paralympic tournament. The Americans are going for their fifth consecutive gold medal, but with political tensions between the two countries higher than they have ever been in living memory, can the Canadians get a measure of revenge?

What has been the impact of the US-Israel war with Iran?

So far, the impact of the Iran war appears to be largely limited to making it more difficult for some athletes — particularly those flying from or via the Middle East — to get to Italy. The United States is sending a team of 72 athletes to the Games, while Iran and Israel each had one athlete successfully qualify for the Paralympics. Abolfazi Khatibi, 23, is a Para-cross-country skier from Iran, while Israel's Sheina Vaspi, 24, is a Para-alpine skier. Just hours before the opening ceremony, however, the IPC announced that Khatibi would not be competing because he couldn't safely travel to Italy amid the intensifying US-Israel war with Iran.

Earlier this week, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) weighed in, calling on all United Nations member states to "support athletes who have qualified for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics, and who may be affected by the most recent conflicts, in their journey to these Games."

In the statement, the IOC referenced the non-binding Olympic Truce Resolution, which is passed by the UN General Assembly before each Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Edited by: Matt Pearson
This article was originally published on March 5, 2026. It was updated on March 6, 2026 with the news that Iran's only qualified athlete would not be competing at the Paralympics.