Milan Cortina Paralympics guide: Games celebrate 50 years and Russian flag returns

[AP Photo]

The Winter Paralympics celebrate its 50th anniversary at Milan Cortina, where Ukraine is expected to boycott the opening ceremony as the Russian flag and national anthem make a return to the global sports stage.

Five decades after some 200 athletes competed in two sports at the inaugural 1976 Ornskoldsvik Winter Paralympics in Sweden, more than 600 athletes are expected to participate across six sports in Italy from March 6-15.

The opening ceremony on March 6 at Arena di Verona marks the first time a Paralympic ceremony is held at a UNESCO World Heritage site. The ancient Arena has been retrofitted with new wheelchair ramps and accessible restrooms along with other safety upgrades.

The closing ceremony on March 15 is at the renovated Cortina Curling Stadium, a former venue of the 1956 Winter Olympics.

The Winter Paralympics come 20 years after Italy hosted the first time in Turin.

China staged the Paralympics four years ago in Beijing and set a medals record at a single Winter Games of 61. China is favored to dominate again.

Russian flag returns

The Russian flag hasn’t been flown at the Paralympics since the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, while the national anthem has not been heard at any Olympics or Paralympics since the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games.

It could be the first time in four years the anthem is played at any major global sporting event. Russian athletes were initially banned because of the state-sponsored doping program, and the sanctions continued after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Ukraine’s sports minister has said the nation will not be present at the opening ceremony.

“We will not take part in any other official Paralympic events,” sports minister Matvii Bidnyi said in a social media post after the IPC announced the return of the Russian flag and anthem on Feb. 18.

The few allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes have been competing as individual neutral athletes without their flag, anthem or team colors.

Top athletes

Oksana Masters, born in Ukraine with radiation-induced birth defects, is the most decorated American Winter Paralympian with 14 medals to go along with five Summer Paralympic medals. In Para biathlon and Para cross-country skiing, Masters became the first American to win seven medals — in seven events — at a single Paralympics in Beijing.

Fellow American Brenna Huckaby, whose right leg was amputated at 14, will try to win her fifth and sixth medals in Para snowboarding. Huckaby has three golds and a bronze.

Italian Giacomo Bertagnolli, visually impaired, will have a chance to add to his four Paralympic gold medals and 10 world titles while competing at home in all five Para alpine skiing events.

Norway’s Jesper Pedersen, born with spina bifida, won four of the five medal events in Para alpine skiing in Beijing and is set to fight for medals again in Italy.

Wang Haitao won gold in wheelchair curling in PyeongChang in 2018 and Beijing, becoming only the second captain to win back-to-back Paralympic titles after Canada’s Jim Armstrong. Wang will try to become the first three-time Paralympic champion in the sport.

Ukrainian Oleksandra Kononova, who has a stunted right arm, won three gold medals in Para biathlon and Para cross-country skiing as a 19-year-old in Vancouver in 2010. She’s won two more Paralympic titles and over a dozen world titles since then despite injuries.

The six sports

— Para alpine skiing: Introduced at the first Winter Paralympics in 1976, it includes five events — slalom, giant slalom, super-G, downhill and super combined. Athletes use monoskis, outriggers or audio transmission systems for vision impaired competitors.

— Para biathlon: Combines the strength and endurance of cross-country skiing with the precision and composure of target shooting. Athletes compete on a variable-length ski course across three classes: Vision impaired, standing and sitting.

— Para cross-country skiing: Five events divided into three categories: Standing, sitting (for skiers on a sit-ski) and vision impaired (for skiers who compete with a guide skier).

— Para ice hockey: Debuted at Lillehammer in 1994. Since 2010, it has been a mixed-gender sport. It is played by athletes with a physical disability in their lower limbs. Players use sledges made of aluminium or steel, and use two blades and two sticks to push themselves and handle the puck.

— Para snowboard: Debuted in Sochi in 2014 as part of the alpine skiing program. Two events in three categories for men and one for women depending on the disability.

— Wheelchair curling: Celebrating its 20th anniversary. Players can choose whether to throw the stone alone or with a teammate who holds the wheelchair steady. Athletes can use an extender to add speed and direction. For the first time the program will feature a mixed team event and a pairs competition. TALES AZZONI, Sports Writer, MDT/AP