Milano Cortina 2026: Top moments from Day 8

We bring you the triumphs, the upsets and the top stories from the snow and ice at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games. Here are our top moments from Day 8 (11 March).

Canada deny China golden curling hat-trick 

Canada narrowly triumphed over China to win wheelchair curling mixed team gold in a suspenseful, low-scoring match that came down to the final throw. 

Two decades after Canada won the sport’s debut competition in Torino, the team was victorious on Italian soil once more, winning 4-3. 

Canada were undefeated in their 11 matches at Milano Cortina 2026. They have never missed a Paralympic mixed doubles podium and their victory brings their title tally to four. China, though, had won the past two Paralympic competitions.

“It’s pretty hard to top those last few minutes of that game,” Canadian skip Mark Ideson said. “Just turning to look at the crowd when we realised we won gold, seeing my wife and my kids and my mum in the crowd... it was an incredible moment I’ll never forget.”

Veroniker Aigner fulfills five-medal ambition

Veroniker Aigner topped off Milano Cortina 2026 by winning the Para alpine skiing slalom vision impaired, but said she would give up the event. 

“It was my last slalom race ever," Aigner said. "I feel very crazy, a little bit sad, but it is what it is. That pain in the knee is too big to try more slalom." 

The Austrian finishes her Games with four gold medals and one silver to go with the golds she won in giant slalom and slalom at Beijing 2022. 

In the women’s sitting slalom, China’s Wenjing Zhang won gold, finishing just 0.27 seconds ahead of first-time Paralympic medallist Nette Kiviranta of Finland. 

Spain's Audrey Pascual Seco took bronze took bronze, her fourth medal of the Games, on her signature pink sit-ski.  

"When I was little, they asked me what's my favourite colour,” Seco said. “Santa Claus suddenly brought me a pink monoski, and since I was like 11 years old, I always wear pink gloves, pink goggles, and my pink monoski." 

USA celebrate second mixed relay win

The penultimate day of cross-country skiing featured the mixed and open 4x2.5km relays.

The USA won the mixed relay, ahead of Ukraine and China in a close-fought race. Anchor Jake Adicoff had to come from fourth to overtake Ukraine, crossing the line with 12.5 seconds separating gold and silver.

Effusive celebrations kicked off as teammate Oksana Masters greeted him with a finish-line hug.

"The relay is really fun because you actually get to watch your teammates,” Adicoff said. “That's my favourite part of the day. And getting tackled by Oksana at the finish. It was initially a hug, and then she kind of put all her weight into it, and then all of a sudden I was on the ground.” 

China won gold in the open 4x2.5km relay ahead of Germany and Norway.   

China’s Shuang Yu overtook Germany’s Marco Maier in the final lap. But Norway’s third-place finish had the crowd on its feet. The overly complacent Thomas Oxaal finished centimetres ahead (0.2 seconds) of Ukraine’s Serafym Drahun.  

Teammate Vilde Nilsen said: "I was almost more angry than happy when he [Oxaal] crossed the finish line because I was like, 'What are you doing? We could lose the medal'."

Oxaal apologised to his teammates.

"I still felt we had control, but I've seen it on TV now, and I saw it when we skied as well, that it was closer than I hoped,” he said. “But you can take it with a few centimetres and it's still a medal so then it's OK, it's a happy ending.” 

Para ice hockey: Italy best of the rest

Italy finished fifth in para ice hockey for the second straight Paralympic Winter Games after beating Germany 5-2 at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Saturday.

Having overcome the Germans 2-1 in Group A earlier in the tournament, Italy twice had to come from behind on Saturday, trailing 1-0 and 2-1 to goals from Bernhard Hering.

But the hosts' superior number of shots on goal - 25 to 11 - eventually told. Captain Gianluigi Rosa sealed victory with a goal two minutes from full time.

"It's good that today I finally scored," Rosa, who was playing in his fifth Paralympic Winter Games, said. "I finally did what my kids asked me a couple of days ago. Two goals, so one for each. They can be quite happy.”

In the earlier game on Saturday, Slovakia defeated Japan 1-0 to finish the tournament in seventh place.

Where to watch and listen to the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games

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