Record numbers in sight for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games. On Monday 31 July, the IPC confirmed the official programme of events and athlete quotas. Both have proved to be historic. Milan-Cortina 2026 will feature 79 Paralympic medal events in six sports. Five of them are regulars at the event – alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, hockey and snowboarding – but the sixth is a newcomer: wheelchair curling. It will be represented by two events: a mixed doubles and a team competition. In all, the Games will award 39 gold medals to men and 35 to women, plus five in the mixed events. Alpine skiing, biathlon and cross-country skiing will all have equal numbers of medals for men and women. In terms of participation, the IPC has raised the bar with 665 quotas, a 20% increase on the 558 athletes entered for the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. To date, the record for participation in a winter event is still held by the PyeongChang 2018 Games, with 564 athletes taking part. The Milan-Cortina Paralympic Winter Games will take place from 6 to 15 March 2026.
