CThere are stories that cannot be measured with a stopwatch. Stories that don’t all fit into one medal. At Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympicswhich open today between the Italian mountains and the ice of the competition arenas, here come women who have gone through life with a rare strength. Athletes who transformed a limit into a starting point and strength, and who chose to go beyond what many had imagined for them. The Paralympics, in fact, are not just a sporting competition. They are the place where courage, determination and a form of freedom come together which comes from the ability to reinvent oneself. And this year, on the snow at home, there are also five Italians ready to write a small piece of this story.
Milan Cortina Paralympics: the five blue stories of courage
The Italian team at the Winter Paralympics is the largest ever: 42 athletes, including five women. Five athletes different in age, sport and path, but united by the same determination. The youngest and most symbolic among them is Chiara Mazzeloriginally from Val di Fassa, in Trentino. She is one of Italy’s two flag bearers at these Games. She competes in alpine skiing in the category of athletes with visual impairments: goes down the tracks following the voice of the guide who indicates every curve, every change of pace, every danger. And for those who observe it from the outside, everything seems to be in order. But Mazzel goes down that slope “feeling” it and not seeing it. And he manages to do it because he has built a unique and profound relationship with the mountains over the years. The snow, for her, is not just a race track: it is home.
Italy in the snow
There is next to her Martina Vozza, always an alpine skiing athlete and also with a visual disability. The athlete comes from Veneto, from the Dolomites, and grew up with skis on her feet. Like Mazzel, he tackles the descents relying on the guide’s voice and a memory of the route built with millimetric precision. His descents, done in such a fluid way, make us completely forget an essential detail: these athletes reach impressive speeds. And they do it by relying not on sight, but to technique, absolute concentration and the total trust of those who guide them. (with Vozza the excellent Ylenia Sabidussi).
The youngest and most symbolic of the Italian athletes is Chiara Mazzel, an alpine skier originally from Val di Fassa. She is one of the two flag bearers for Italy at these Paralympics (Getty IMages)
On the ice, the precision of women curling
Beyond the snow, there is ice. The silent one of wheelchair curlingwhere concentration is everything. Here we find three Italian athletes who come from different territories, but share the same passion for this sport made of strategy, patience and precision. Angela Menardi He is from Cortina d’Ampezzo, and plays almost at home right here. For her, these Paralympics have a special flavor: going out on the ice in front of your audience means bringing an entire community with you.
I’m there next to her Giuliana Turrathirty, and Orietta Bertòalso originally from Northern Italy and among the protagonists of the growth of Italian Paralympic curling in recent years. Their sport is made of minimal movements and absolute precision: The stone slides slowly across the ice, and every centimeter can change the outcome of the game. But behind that apparent calm there is an enormous intensity. And together they represent a generation of athletes who contributed to making wheelchair curling known and grown in Italy.
The world champions: stories that come from afar
The Paralympics, however, are also a meeting of extraordinary lives, lives that come from all over the world. Like that of Oksana Masters, one of the greatest Paralympians ever. Born in Ukraine, marked by the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster and raised in an orphanage before being adopted in the United States, she transformed her story into an incredible journey made up of medals and different sports. Or like that of Brenna Huckabywho started snowboarding after having a leg amputated due to a tumor and today is one of the strongest athletes in the world. And then there is Kendall Gretschan athlete capable of winning medals at both the summer and winter Paralympics, demonstrating that talent can cross seasons and disciplines. Different stories, certainly, but they tell the same truth: courage does not erase limits. It passes through them.
The great international favourites
As well as names like Oksana Masters, Brenna Huckaby And Kendall Gretschthere are other very strong athletes who should be kept an eye on. The German Anna-Lena Forster, one of the most dominant in alpine sitting skiing, multiple Paralympic medalist. Ukraine, Oleksandra Kononovachampion in biathlon and cross-country skiing, already winner of several Paralympic gold medals. Again, the Canadian Natalie Wilkieamong the strongest in Nordic skiing, often favored in long distances. And finally, Brittany Hudakalso Canadian, one of the best Paralympic biathletes of recent years and the French Cecile HernandezParalympic champion in para snowboarding.
They already have the real gold medal around their neck
The competitions start today, all the athletes are ready and concentrated. These days someone will get on the podium and someone will stay a few hundredths of a second away from a medal. But who really watches these races he knows that the value of the Paralympics is not only in victory. It’s on the path that leads there. On the day someone decided to start over after an accident. In the first training session it seemed impossible. In falls, in fatigue, in patience. For this reason, when one of these athletes, women and men, he shows up at the start, he has already won his gold.
Paralympics Milan Cortina 2026: useful information
The Winter Paralympics begin today 6 March and continue until 15 March. There are around 650 participating athletes, coming from over 50 countries and are involved in six winter Paralympic sports. All of these take place between Cortina d’Ampezzo (alpine skiing, snowboarding, curling), Val di Fiemme / Tesero (cross country and biathlon) and Milan (para ice hockey). The races are broadcast every day with live broadcasts and highlights on Rai (free-to-air and RaiPlay) and Eurosport / Discovery+. The disciplines on the program are:
- Paralympic alpine skiing
- Paralympic cross-country skiing
- Paralympic biathlon
- For snowboarding
- Para ice hockey
- Wheelchair curling
