Milano Cortina 2026: Para biathlon power couple go for gold

Para biathlon kicks off at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games on 7 March, with USA couple Oksana Masters and Aaron Pike among the ones to watch. 

Beijing 2022 gold medallists Leonie Maria Walter of Germany and Kendall Gretsch of the USA will hope to triumph again.

Canada’s Mark Arendz will vie for his third consecutive gold in the standing category.

First included in the Paralympic Winter Games at Innsbruck 1988 for athletes with physical impairments, Para biathlon combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. From Albertville 1992, athletes with vision impairments also competed. 

Today, athletes compete in one of three categories: sitting, standing and vision impaired. The course system has a 2.5km loop with cut-offs that form the shorter loops used for the respective para biathlon events. 

Athletes race different distances around the looped course. Between laps, they stop and pick up their rifles at the shooting range. They must hit five targets. For each missed shot, competitors either get a time penalty or must ski a penalty loop, depending on the event.

Athletes with vision impairment are assisted by acoustic signals in shooting, which, depending on signal intensity, indicate when the athlete is on target. 

The 18 Para biathlon medal events at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium will take place over three days, starting on 7 March at 10:00 CET with the women’s sprint sitting. Many biathletes will also compete in cross-country skiing at Milano Cortina 2026.

Five stories to follow...  

Canadian Arendz aims to set new standard

Mark Arendz is one of the most successful current Para biathletes with multiple FIS World Cup overall titles and Paralympic medals. He won the FIS Crystal Globe as overall world cup champion again in 2026.   
Arendz is planning to meet competition head on at Milano Cortina 2026. 

“Over the past few years, I have shown the rest of the world the standard needed to win in biathlon,” he said. “I know my competitors will match that, so it is up to me to blaze a new trail and set new standards. Why not start that at Milano Cortina? 

“What details of my performances can I improve? Is it tactics or technique? Is it nutrition or recovery? I want to come to these Games as well prepared as possible, and then it will be all about performance in the moment.”  

Arendz’s younger brother Menno plays a key role as part of his shooting support team. Mark also competes in Para cross-country skiing at Milano Cortina 2026.

USA’s Masters and Pike compete ahead of impending nuptials 

Sitting biathletes Oksana Masters and Aaron Pike offer up a love story for fans as they go into competition, having hinted at an Italian wedding to follow. The USA pair have qualified for every Paralympic Games, winter and summer, since 2012, making them one of the most famous couples in elite sport. 

At Val di Fiemme, their focus will be the sport first. Masters dominated the women’s sitting Para biathlon events at Beijing 2022, bringing home two gold medals and a silver. As the USA’s most decorated Winter Paralympian of all time, she will be aiming for her 20th medal at her eighth Games. 

Meanwhile, fiancé Aaron Pike goes into his fourth Winter Games after the most successful period of his biathlon career. The 39-year-old claimed the 12.5km individual world championship title in 2023 and last year became sprint world champion. He chases his first Paralympic medal.

German women hope for medal haul  

Three-time Beijing 2022 medallist Leonie Maria Walter is one to watch in the women's vision-impaired sprint pursuit. 

Walter comes into the Games off the back of a world cup Crystal Globe season. She was only 18 when she competed in Beijing. At Milano Cortina she plans to lean on her experience. 

“A lot has changed for me since winning my first gold medal in Beijing in 2022. I know what I have to do,” Walter said. 

“I hope I can put everything I have trained for over the last few years into practice in the best possible way during the competitions. Of course, I would also like to bring home a medal, preferably in the best possible colour.” 

Her compatriot, sitting biathlete Anja Wicker, finished on the podium in every race she started in the 2024/25 season. With three medals from Sochi 2014 and Beijing 2022 already under her belt, Wicker will also be vying for the podium at Milano Cortina 2026. 

Will Gretsch build on 2025 World Championship clean sweep? 

Kendall Gretsch is another of the USA Paralympians to watch, competing just 18 months after bagging silver in Para triathlon at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.  

A six-time Winter Paralympic medallist, with four podium finishes in Para biathlon, Gretsch goes into the Games having swept all three Para biathlon sitting events at the IBU Para Biathlon World Championships 2025.

Gretsch, who made her Paralympic debut at PyeongChang 2018, has already checked out the course, which is slightly different from her last Games experience on the River Seine and the Champs-Elysees.

“It'll be a beautiful venue,” Gretsch said. “I’ll hopefully have some friends and family that will come over and see me compete.” 

Follow Kazakhstan’s Para biathlon pioneer

Yerbol Khamitov claimed his first Para biathlon World Championships title, winning a tight race in the men’s 12.5km individual sitting event at the 2025 world championships. He became the first athlete from Kazakhstan to win a Crystal Globe as overall world cup champion.  

Khamitov was in close competition with Aaron Pike of the USA and Derek Zaplotinsky of Canada until the very end, taking a five-second advantage in the skiing to take the lead. Facing similar stiff competition at Milano Cortina, Khamitov will be looking to take home his first Paralympic medal. 

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