Spring celebrations and summer training: Declan Farmer’s road to Milano Cortina 2026

Para ice hockey star Declan Farmer had a spring to remember – he got married, travelled to Europe on his honeymoon, and led Team USA to victory at the World Championships in Buffalo, New York.

Now, with the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games less than a year away, Farmer is back training, focused on helping his team secure a fourth consecutive Paralympic gold.

“Summer is really the time to do a lot of training,” Farmer says. “It’s the best time to train. You have two or three months of extended time, when you don’t have to travel that often and you can focus on yourself and your individual skills.

“So, when we start the season in the fall, it’s just wheels up - we are not trying to get back into shape, we’re already in peak condition and we’re ready to build on what we did last year.”

Road back to the top

Speaking at the International Paralympic Committee Athletes’ Forum in June, Farmer shared what it meant for the team to win the World Championships in May.

Team USA won every match at LECOM Harborcenter, with Farmer leading the tournament in scoring with 21 points and earning MVP honours. In the final, the team overpowered defending champions Canada 6-1.

“That was our goal for sure to win the World Championships,” the 27-year-old three-time Paralympian said. “It was to go to Milano Cortina as the first seeds. But it was also a good moment for the team to win when it counts in a really big tournament – the final dress rehearsal before the Paralympics.”

Team USA has dominated at the Paralympic Winter Games, winning five of the eight gold medals since the sport was introduced at Lillehammer 1994. But the victory in Buffalo was especially meaningful after the team’s loss to Canada in the 2024 World Championship final – their first defeat at a World Championship or the Paralympic Winter Games since 2017. 

Farmer said the setback helped sharpen their focus. 

“After a while, you lose a little bit of the edge of having to go hard and feeling like you have to earn it,” Farmer said. “We just came in more focused individually and as a team to the 2025 Worlds.”

“Our goal was to focus on our game and continue to get better in all the areas that we care about as the team. The different things we were working on throughout the season came together in that last week. It’s a good sign and the goal now is to just build off that.”

Journey to Milano Cortina 2026

Just two weeks after the World Championships – and a honeymoon in the Netherlands and Greece – Farmer was back on the ice near his home in Boulder, Colorado.

Born a bilateral amputee, Farmer began playing Para ice hockey at age eight and made his Paralympic debut at Sochi 2014. He expects Milano Cortina 2026 to be a special experience, especially with friends and family in attendance.

“We are excited to share more energy and have more shared experience of the Games with all of our friends and family that helped us get to where we are as athletes,” he said. “There’s also the pressure of having people we care about in attendance – it’s a lot different than just having them overseas watching from back home.”

The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games will take place from 6-15 March and feature six Para sports: Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country, Para ice hockey, Para snowboard, and wheelchair curling. 

Farmer’s wedding in April added another layer of meaning to the upcoming Games. Many of his teammates and friends from the Para ice hockey community were there to celebrate.

“I had almost all the team there. Some of my best friends in the world are on this team. (Para ice hockey) is an important part of my life.”

“It was nice to see all the guys have some fun because the hockey season gets long and you can't just be going the whole time. You need mental breaks and mental resets. It's all about balancing and sustaining, so that you can keep training consistently without burning out.”

On summer ice

So, what is Farmer’s summer looking like? He says it’s business as usual – he coached at a development camp before going back to his training regimen. 

“I’m someone who doesn’t really like to take too much time off. Even on my honeymoon, I was still working out. I can’t be functioning and be happy if I don’t get some movement in the morning.” 

There are no official national team trainings until try outs in mid-September. But with many players based in Colorado, they get together to train four times a week. Around 10 players regularly join, including Japanese standout Itsuki Ito.

“We do a lot of skills. I think about what drills we're going to do and plan out for the summer. Everyone is different, so everyone needs to focus on different things,” he said. 

“I’m trying to find a balance of what skills are best for everyone to do - pass catching and shooting will probably be the biggest focus this summer, and skating with the puck.”

Off the ice, Farmer lifts weights six or seven times a week and does cardio in the afternoons, often using a stationary bike or handcycling on Colorado’s scenic trails.

“I like our training style because it gives you freedom to do your own thing. A lot of us do our own research and look at learnings and think about like, what are the best ways to weight train on our own?

“In Para ice hockey, obviously an important thing is, we're pulling ourselves on the ice, so you need a really strong back. You play a contact sport, you’re getting hit, so you must be stable, it's a lot of core work. So, it's a strong back, strong core, and then just kind of building a weightlifting routine around that.”

 

 

 

 

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Playing with the Agitos

Farmer is looking to take the ice at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena with a new tattoo inspired by the Paralympic symbol called the Agitos, which he got with teammates Griffin LaMarre, Brody Roybal, and Jack Wallace during his bachelor trip to Greece. 

“We were like, ‘We should get a Paralympic theme tattoo.’ I got olive branches - I wanted to make it a little bit of my own, kind of Greek themed.”

The tattoo represents many things, Farmer said, including being “proud Paralympians.”

As for what comes after Milano Cortina 2026, Farmer is keeping things in perspective.

“I definitely want to keep playing beyond Milan. But I always want to take things one at a time, because I’ve already been to three Games, which most people would kill for.

“I just want to appreciate this build up to Milano.”
 

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