The Milan Cortina Games mark the 50th anniversary of the Winter Paralympics. Athletes will compete across 79 events in six sports.
Rene de Silvestro, of Italy, competes in the alpine skiing men's super-G sitting final at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Varvara Voronchikhina, of Russia, smiles on the podium after winning the gold medal in the alpine skiing women's super-G standing at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Varvara Voronchikhina, of Russia, crosses the finish line in the alpine skiing women's super-G standing final at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Mengqiu Zhang, of China, reacts after failing to finish the alpine skiing women's super-G standing final at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Audrey Pascual Seco, of Spain, crosses the finish line in the alpine skiing women's super-G sitting final at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Patrick Halgren, of the United States, competes in the alpine skiing men's super-G standing final at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Jeroen Kampschreur, of the Netherlands, reacts after crossing the finish line in the alpine skiing men's super-G sitting final at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Chine's Li Hongguan challenges for the puck with Italy's Gianluigi Rosa during the Group A hockey match between Italy and China at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Jinqiao Yang, of China, competes during wheelchair curling mixed doubles round robin session against Italy at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
China's Shiyu Wang competes in the Para Biathlon Women's sprint sitting at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Tesero, Italy, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Gakuta Koike, of Japan, reacts after competing in the alpine skiing men's downhill standing competition at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Zach Miller, of the United States, from left, Keith Gabel, of the United States, and Alex Massie, of Canada, compete in a men's snowboard cross SB-LL2 semifinal at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka
Mike Schultz, of the United States, stretches during warmup before the start of the snowboard cross competitions at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka
One skier lamented "tropical" conditions, and a snowboarder complained that soft, slow snow put him at a disadvantage. And some worried about their safety.
