On 6 March, the Arena di Verona, a historic Roman amphitheatre in northern Italy, will present a surprising backdrop to the Opening Ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.
While the façade of the Arena di Verona might have retained some of its unique options, the Paralympic Winter Games of their present type are nearly unrecognisable in comparison with the trailblazing edition held in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, in 1976.
The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics, which occur from 6–15 March, will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Paralympic Winter Games.
As many as 665 Para athletes from 50 National Paralympic Committees will collect in Italy to compete in 79 medal occasions throughout six sports activities: Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country, Para ice hockey, Para snowboard and wheelchair curling.
The distinction with Örnsköldsvik 1976 couldn’t be higher. The inaugural Games featured 198 athletes from 16 international locations who competed in two sports activities – Para alpine snowboarding and Para cross-country snowboarding. There had been competitions for athletes with amputations and athletes with imaginative and prescient impairment.
The inaugural Paralympic Winter Games
Ola Olsson was on the Örnsköldsvik 1976 Organising Committee as the chairman of the Para cross-country snowboarding committee. It was his first time organising a Para sport competitors.
“It was fun, educational and an honour to be part of the organising staff. I had experience in organising competitions for people without disabilities and had a good organisation around me,” he recalled.
“It was a great experience to see how talented the athletes were, especially from the Nordic countries. It was also fun to see how the skiers who supported the athletes took on the task.”
Sweden’s personal Birgitta Sund grew to become the poster woman of the first Games, successful three Paralympic gold medals in Para cross-country snowboarding, whereas West Germany topped the medals desk with 10 gold, 12 silver and 6 bronze medals.
The Paralympic Winter Games in the Eighties
The second Paralympic Winter Games passed off in Geilo, Norway, in 1980. Ice sledge velocity skating was added as a medal occasion, attracting 26 athletes from 5 international locations.
However, it was the hosts, Norway, who stole the present in the new self-discipline because of the efforts of Brit Mjaasund Oejen, who secured all three golds accessible in the sport in addition to two golds in Para cross-country snowboarding. Norway additionally topped the medal desk, claiming 54 medals together with 23 golds.
Innsbruck grew to become the first metropolis to host the Games twice in succession, in 1984 and 1988. The roster of medal occasions was additionally broadened by the inclusion of downhill occasions in Para alpine snowboarding.
The 1988 Games had been to be the Games of Knut Lundstroem, who wrote himself into Paralympic historical past with an excellent efficiency as he secured a complete of seven medals in Para cross-country snowboarding and ice sledge velocity skating, an unparalleled feat at the Winter Games.
The Paralympic Winter Games in the Nineties
Tignes Albertville 1992 introduced collectively 365 Para athletes from 24 delegations who competed in 79 medal occasions throughout three sports activities. Nineteen of the 24 competing delegations received at the least one medal, with the USA topping the medals desk for the first time in Paralympic Winter Games historical past.
The Games returned to Norway for a second time, this time at Lillehammer 1994. A complete of 469 Para athletes from 31 international locations competed in 133 medal occasions throughout 5 sports activities, together with Para ice hockey for the first time.
Sweden emerged as the inaugural gold medallists in the sport, defeating the hosts. Ragnhild Myklebust earned legendary standing by successful 9 medals (5 gold, two silver and two bronze) throughout ice sledge velocity skating, Para biathlon and Para cross-country snowboarding, a report that is still to at the present time.
In 1998, Japan became the first Paralympic Winter Games host from outside Europe. More than 560 athletes competed in entrance of greater than 150,000 spectators who gathered in the metropolis to look at competitions in 5 sports activities.
Evolution of the Paralympic Winter Games continues
The evolution and progress of the Paralympic Winter Games have continued unabated, with every version throughout the previous 30 years breaking new floor and setting new information. From the addition of wheelchair curling at Torino 2006, to ticket gross sales reaching an all-time excessive at Vancouver 2010, and Para snowboard making its Paralympic debut at Sochi 2014, many milestones have been reached in the Paralympic Movement.
Beijing 2022 was full of athletic feats and historic firsts. Young athletes pulled off distinctive performances, whereas veterans confirmed their dominance on the snow and ice.
The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, which occur from 6–15 March, promise to be the most stunning Paralympic Winter Games in historical past. A brand new medal occasion will debut in wheelchair curling, a sport that was launched to the Paralympic programme in Italy 20 years in the past.
In his handle in the official programme for Örnsköldsvik 1976, Bengt Hollén, the president of the Swedish Sports Organisation for the Disabled, acknowledged that the maiden occasion had been approached with “thrill and interest”, declaring that the Games indicated “a marked advance in the history of both the national and international sports movement for people with disabilities.”
Little might Hollén have dreamed that the seeds sown in Sweden 50 years in the past would blossom into the worldwide celebration of sporting endeavour and achievement that we all know at this time.
Discover more about each edition of the Paralympic Winter Games
