Golden jubilee for a bigger Games
This is the 14th edition of the Winter Paralympics, to be held on the 50th anniversary of its first. It will be bigger than ever before, with more than 600 athletes from 56 countries expected to take part. El Salvador, Haiti, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Portugal will compete for the first time. There will be 79 different medal events in six different sports, with mixed doubles in wheelchair curling a new addition since Beijing 2022. The president of the International Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons, said the Games would deliver “world-class sport [that is] highly competitive. Sport that will surprise you. And most importantly, sport that will have a life-changing impact on everyone who witnesses it.”
From Verona to Milan via Cortina
As with the Winter Olympics, which grabbed the attention of the world last month, these Paralympic Games are to be hosted by Milano Cortina across a range of venues hundreds of miles apart. The opening ceremony will take place in Verona on Friday night, before the action proper begins at the central hub of Cortina d’Ampezzo on Saturday. Cortina will host para-alpine skiing at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre, alongside wheelchair curling and para-snowboard. Nordic events – para-biathlon and para-cross country skiing – will be staged at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium near the town of Predazzo. Finally, the Para-Ice hockey competition will take place in Milan at the Santagiulia Stadium.
