Milano Cortina 2026: Road trippin with Ebba Aarsjoe’s Swedish cheer squad

As Ebba Aarsjoe geared up to go for gold in Para alpine skiing, her family was also racing the clock to arrive in Cortina on time to see her victory. 

Her grandma, parents, sister and boyfriend bundled themselves in the car and spent more than 24 hours driving over three days, travelling from Sweden’s north to the Italian alps. 

Their first stop was southern Sweden, and they slept on the ferry to Germany before continuing through the country en route to Italy. 

They made it to the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre with 10 minutes to spare before Aarsjoe’s first race on 7 March, Day 1 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics Winter Games – where she zipped down the slope to claim gold in the women’s downhill standing race. 

“We made it on time,” her father, Daniel, said, joking about not stopping for toilet breaks. 

“We have looked forward to this for three years,” her mother Pernilla said. 

Road to Milano Cortina 2026

There was no Abba sing-songs on the road trip, because Daniel the driver preferred a silent journey enjoying the scenery. 

“He drove very fast,” Pernilla said, with a laugh. 

“We burned the poor car on the (German) Autobahn,” Daniel said. 

Asked how fast, he said: “It’s a secret”.   

Aarsjoe said it meant “everything” to see her family, partner and friends waving Swedish flags in the crowd and cheering for her. They also have a poster placard with a picture of her as a little girl with hair in plaits. 

“I am so emotional, it’s wonderful,” Aarsjoe said. 

Support from the stands

Inga Lisa said it was very special to make the trip to see her first grandchild chase Paralympic glory. 

“I was so nervous,” she said. “We knew she could do it.” 

Boyfriend Joel is brimming with pride as he watches her races. It’s the first time he’s seen her compete outside Sweden. 

“There’s a lot of tension,” he said. “She’s grown as a skier.” 

Medal No. 2

On 9 March, the third day of competition, Aarsjoe added a bronze medal to her collection in the super-G event, finishing behind Russia's Varvara Voronchikhina and France’s Aurelie Richard. 

While it was an improvement on her fourth place in the same event at Beijing 2022, she wasn’t entirely satisfied with the performance after finishing 2.04 seconds behind. 

“The top was good and the bottom was good, but the whole middle part was not aggressive. I didn’t push it and it shows with the time,” she said. 

There’s plenty more racing to go with the super combined, giant slalom and slalom events to come. 

Aarsjoe netted double gold in the women's super-combined standing and women's slalom standing and a bronze medal in women's downhill standing at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. 

Her results in China were a drought-breaking performance – the first time a Swede had won a Para alpine skiing medal since the Salt Lake City 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.

Born with Klippel–Trenaunay syndrome, Aarsjoe has reduced muscles in her right leg and blood circulation problems. 

Para sport has been integral to her journey to find body confidence and let go of teenage shame she felt about how her leg appeared. 

“It was hard growing up and being a teenager. It took many years to get over that,” she said last year. 

As her profile grows back home in Sweden, Aarsjoe enjoys being an ambassador for Para sport and encourages other youngsters with disabilities to love the skin they are in.