Milano Cortina 2026: Your guide to Team Austria at the Paralympic Winter Games

The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games will showcase the best of Para sport, delivering unforgettable moments in Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country, Para ice hockey, Para snowboard and wheelchair curling.

Up to 665 athletes from around 50 National Paralympic Committees are set to compete from 6–15 March, making Milano Cortina 2026 one of the most anticipated editions of the Paralympic Winter Games.

Discover the Austrian delegation at Milano Cortina 2026 and explore moments that shaped its Paralympic Winter Games journey.

Austria at Milano Cortina 2026

Four years after winning 13 medals at Beijing 2022, Austrian athletes are aiming to take the spotlight again at Milano Cortina 2026.

The Austrian National Paralympic Committee has announced 15 athletes and four guides who will compete in four sports: Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country skiing, and Para snowboard.

Johannes, Veronika, and Elisabeth Aigner will return to the Paralympic stage. The siblings, along with their sister Barbara, won an impressive nine medals in Para alpine skiing in Beijing.

In January, Johannes earned his 50th World Cup victory in the men’s vision impaired category, showing that he is in top shape ahead of his second Paralympic appearance.

Veronika also capped another impressive season, topping the overall World Cup rankings in the women’s vision impaired category for the second year in a row. However, her sister and guide Elisabeth sustained an injury in February.

Beijing 2022 Paralympian Rene Eckhart and debutants Markus Schmidhoffer and Oliver Dreier are looking to capture Austria’s first Para snowboard medal since PyeongChang 2018.

Ornskoldsvik 1976: Austria makes stunning debut at inaugural Winter Games

The first Paralympic Winter Games featured 198 athletes from 16 countries competing in two sports: alpine skiing and cross-country skiing. West Germany topped the medals table with 10 gold, 12 silver, and six bronze medals, while Austrian athletes claimed a total of 35 medals—the most among the participating nations.

Para alpine skiers Horst Morokutti, Herbert Millendorfer, and Franz Meister led Austria’s medal haul, each earning three medals, including one gold, in the Swedish host city.

Nearly 50 years after the inaugural Games, Austria currently ranks third on the all-time Paralympic Winter Games medal table, with 109 gold, 120 silver, and 116 bronze medals.

Innsbruck 1984: Unstoppable Austrian athletes top medals table

Hosts Austria topped the medals table at the Innsbruck 1984 Paralympic Winter Games, which featured 419 Para athletes from 21 countries. The host country captured 70 medals, including 34 gold, 19 silver and 17 bronze medals.

Helmut Falch dominated Para alpine skiing’s LW1 category, sweeping four gold medals in as many events. Reinhold Wessely competed in two sports – Para cross-country and ice sledge speed skating – and took silver in both sports.

Innsbruck also hosted the Paralympic Winter Games four years later, in 1988.

Torino 2006: Nine-time medallist Oliver Anthofer competes at fifth Games

Oliver Anthofer competed in Para biathlon and Para cross-country skiing at Torino 2006, more than a decade after making his Paralympic debut at Albertville 1992. He took part in five events, with a fifth-place finish as his best result in his final Paralympic appearance.

Over his illustrious career, he collected nine medals, including five silvers and four bronzes.

PyeongChang 2018: Patrick Mayrhofer wins Austria’s first Para snowboard medal

Patrick Mayrhofer made sporting history at PyeongChang 2018, winning the country’s first medal in Para snowboard.

He took silver in the men’s banked slalom SB-UL event, finishing less than a minute behind Mike Minor of Team USA. Australia’s Simone Patmore took bronze. 

Beijing 2022: Aigner siblings dominate on the slopes

At the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, the Aigner siblings took the spotlight in Para alpine skiing. Veronika and her guide and older sister Elisabeth, along with their twin siblings Johannes and Barbara won a total of nine medals in their Paralympic debut.

Competing in front of their parents at Yangqing National Para Alpine Skiing Centre, the siblings took Austria to the top of the Para alpine medals table with four gold.

“It’s a beautiful memory, and it was a wonderful experience. Something I did not want to miss," said Johannes, who won two golds, two silvers and a bronze in the men's vision impaired category at Beijing 2022. 

“You only start realizing what you’ve achieved a week or two after the Games, because the focus is always on the next race. You don’t want to rest on your laurels, as they say so nicely. It took me some time to process it all.”

Secure your tickets for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games  

Milano Cortina 2026, which takes place from 6-15 March 2026, is set to be the most beautiful Paralympic Winter Games yet. Ticket prices start at EUR 10 for children under 14, with approximately 89 per cent of the tickets available for EUR 35 or less.

For more information, please visit tickets.milanocortina2026.org