Women Para Athletes Push for Equality at 2026 Games

When world champion Kelsey DiClaudio looks at the Winter Paralympics, she sees a problem hiding in plain sight.

Para-ice hockey is officially a "mixed" sport at the Games. Yet in 32 years, only four women have ever been selected to compete, even though each team can reserve a special 18th roster spot for a female player.

This year in Milan-Cortina, just one woman is competing among 135 Para-ice hockey athletes. DiClaudio isn't asking why she wasn't picked. She's asking a bigger question: why isn't there a separate women's event?

The 28-year-old American believes the "mixed" label does more harm than good. "I think it's there to deflect outrage," she told reporters. "I don't think most teams take that seriously."

The numbers tell a stark story. While the Summer Paralympics in Paris reached nearly 45% female participation two years ago, only 26% of athletes in Milan-Cortina are women.

The Ripple Effect

But here's the bright spot: that 26% represents real progress. For the fourth straight Winter Paralympics, more women are competing than ever before. Milan-Cortina has 160 female athletes, up from 136 at the previous Games in Beijing.

The addition of mixed doubles wheelchair curling raised women's participation in that sport from 33% to 38%. Small steps, but steps in the right direction.

Some athletes are refusing to wait for change to come slowly. When the International Paralympic Committee cut the most impaired female snowboarders' event in 2022 due to low participation, France's Cecile Hernandez and America's Brenna Huckaby challenged the decision in court and won. Both went on to become Paralympic champions.

Their fight created opportunities for others. Nina Sparks, who just became Great Britain's first female Paralympic snowboarder, calls Hernandez one of her "biggest role models."

Canadian athlete Raphaelle Tousignant became the first woman selected for a men's Para-Ice Hockey World Championship in 2023. She joined the men's national program partly for access to resources and funding that women's programs often lack.

IPC President Andrew Parsons admits gender parity is "not happening fast enough" but says the direction is clear. Once women's Para-ice hockey meets eligibility requirements, including two World Championships and participation from eight nations across three regions, it can become its own Paralympic event.

The women pushing these boundaries aren't just fighting for themselves. They're creating visibility that inspires the next generation and proving that separate, equal opportunities matter more than token inclusion in "mixed" events.