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Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics Open This Week as U.S. Names 72-Athlete Team

The Games mark 50 years of Winter Paralympic competition across six sports.

Overview

  • The 10-day program runs March 4–15 with more than 650 athletes from about 50 delegations competing in 79 medal events, and the opening ceremony on March 6.
  • NBCUniversal will stream every event live on Peacock with additional coverage on USA, CNBC and NBC, while Channel 4 is the exclusive broadcaster in the UK with over 60 hours live.
  • The USOPC confirmed a 72-athlete roster featuring 40 men and 20 women, including 44 returnees headlined by Oksana Masters and fellow Paralympic medalist Kendall Gretsch.
  • Multi-season standouts such as Masters underscore the physical transitions and steep costs of dual-sport careers, with athletes citing equipment prices ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of euros.
  • France is pushing to reinstate events for athletes with intellectual disabilities by 2030; the IPC says it requires proposals from sport federations and FIS backs pursuing inclusion once classification and safety standards are validated.