Oksana Masters Wins 24th Medal at Milano Cortina 2026

After 10 days of breathtaking competition, the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games proved that comebacks and firsts make the sweetest victories.

Oksana Masters entered these Games uncertain if she could even compete. The USA's most decorated Winter Paralympian had undergone surgery, recovered from a bone infection, and healed from a concussion in the off-season.

She left Italy with four more medals, bringing her total to 24 across Summer and Winter Games. The 36-year-old claimed her 20th Winter Paralympic medal with a gold in Para biathlon, then added three more golds and a bronze in Para cross-country skiing.

Austria's Aigner siblings turned the slopes into a family affair. Johannes, 20, and Veronika, 23, combined for seven gold medals in vision impaired Para Alpine skiing events, accounting for nine of Austria's 13 total medals.

History unfolded for two nations experiencing their first Winter Paralympic podium moments. Brazil's Cristian Westemaier Ribera took silver in Para cross-country skiing just weeks after his country earned its first Winter Olympic medal ever. Latvia claimed bronze in wheelchair curling after edging the USA in a dramatic extra-end finish.

Italy's Emanuel Perathoner made the leap from Olympian to Paralympic champion on home snow. The 39-year-old won gold in Para snowboard cross just 100 kilometers from his hometown of Bolzano, four years after an injury derailed his Olympic dreams.

Why This Inspires

Japan's Fukunishi Akari became just the fourth woman to compete in Para ice hockey since it became a mixed event in 2010. She started playing the sport at the end of 2024 and stood on Paralympic ice less than a year later.

Haiti saw its flag at the Winter Paralympics for the first time through Ralf Etienne. The banker turned Para Alpine skier after losing his leg in the devastating 2010 earthquake that struck his Caribbean island nation.

Together, 611 athletes from 55 nations showed that barriers exist only until someone brave enough decides to break them.