Sport for Mobility Paralympic Debutants make impact at Milano Cortina 2026

Thanks to support from the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) Sport for Mobility development programme, four National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) - El Salvador, Haiti, Montenegro and North Macedonia - made their Paralympic Winter Games debut at Milano Cortina 2026. 

While athletes enjoyed mixed fortunes on the snow, several made global headlines and have already set their sights on the French Alps 2030 Paralympic Winter Games.

Having benefitted from Competition Support Grants that enabled them to compete at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Trondheim 2025 to qualify for Milano Cortina 2026, David Chavez and Jonathan Arias made history in March as the first El Salvadorian athletes to compete at either the Olympic or Paralympic Winter Games. 

Competing in Para cross-country skiing, both Chavez and Arias achieved creditable results, however their impact off the field of play was even greater. 

“Representing El Salvador and being the first Paralympic Winter Games athlete fills me with pride,” said Chavez who secured three top 30 finishes at Milano Cortina 2026. 

“It represents the heart of all Salvadorans. It is something historic for El Salvador, having two Paralympic athletes at the Winter Games for the first time ever. This achievement is not just mine, or my family’s, or my teammates: it belongs to all of El Salvador. 

“We’ve even seen many articles published in Salvadoran media, giving us national and international visibility, and now many people know about us. 

“I just want to tell anyone who wants to practice a sport that they can do it. And if our winter programme continues with us, then they are welcome. People with disabilities who want to practice any sport at our training centre — they’re welcome.” 

Teammate Arias was thankful for the IPC’s support which enabled help to compete at the Games. 

“It’s important because with that support, I managed to qualify for the Paralympic Games,” said Arias, who only just made Milano Cortina 2026 after recovering from a leg injury.

“Support, financial and emotional, is extremely important for an athlete, especially from a country without a winter sport tradition.” 

Another athlete to make global news at Milano Cortina 2026 was Ralf Etienne who become the first athlete from Haiti to compete at a Paralympic Winter Games. 

In a field of 45 Para athletes in the men’s giant slalom standing event, Etienne finished his first run in 34th place, but was disqualified from his second run.

“Just to give you the truth, I've been skiing 80 days all my life. Eighty days,” explained Etienne, who lost his leg during the 2010 Haiti earthquake.  

“In the last two weeks, all I've been doing is interviews with multiple media all over the world, some of the biggest. And what I get to say is that there is hope. I have to tell the Haitian youth that if I can do this today with one leg, they can do anything.   

"In four years, of course, I'm going to come back here to get gold. In four years, I'm not going to come here just to compete. I'm going to come here to get the gold," he added. 

Para snowboarder Andrej Šibalić was another beneficiary of a Sport for Mobility Competition Support Grant that enabled him to qualify as Montenegro’s first ever Paralympic Winter Games athlete. Competing in the banked slalom event, he finished 19th in his first run but eventually finished 20th in a strong field.

"The first time was a little slower, while in the second I stepped up the gas. I managed to finish both runs, but that's far from the top athletes who have been snowboarding for many years. I gave it my all, I hope that in the coming period I will work even harder and have stronger training," Šibalić said after the race.

"The impressions, regardless of everything, are good and I am satisfied. I did what I set out to do - I didn't fall, I finished both runs. I entered bravely, I showed that I have the right to compete in the Paralympic Games,” he added.

Ahead of Milano Cortina 2026, North Macedonia’s Para alpine sit-skier Zoran Jovanovski was the beneficiary of support towards participating in competition and training opportunities.

In tricky snowy conditions on the final day of the Games, Jovanovski completed the first run of the slalom course but was disqualified for missing a gate and therefore was one of 16 athletes not to record a time in the race. Only 18 athletes managed to finish both runs.

Kristina Molloy, the IPC’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, said: “One of the objectives of the IPC’s Sport for Mobility development programme is to expand the diversity of competitors at major events, so we are delighted that four NPCs were able to make their Paralympic Winter Games debut at Milano Cortina 2026.

“The IPC is committed to further developing Paralympic Winter sports and for several years now we have been providing grants to NPCs and International Federations to enable and empower Para athletes to compete at the very highest level.

“All five athletes from these four debutant NPCs were beneficiaries of IPC Competition Support Grants which supported the athletes’ international classification and travel to and from international competitions.

“I hope their experiences at Milano Cortina 2026 inspire a whole new generation of Para winter sport athletes and we see even more debutant NPCs at French Alps 2030.”

In total, 39 athletes and four guides representing 23 NPCs competed at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games having benefitted from IPC sport development programmes. Of these, four athletes and two guides won 10 Paralympic medals between them.

In Para cross-country skiing Czechia’s Simona Bubenickova won three silver medals and a bronze, while Cristian Ribeira made history as he secured a silver medal, Brazil’s first ever Paralympic Winter Games podium finish. Competing in Para alpine skiing events, Slovakia’s Alexandra Rexova secured three bronze medal finishes and Poland’s Michal Golas took home a silver and a bronze.

The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games were a record-breaking success with a record 611 Para athletes from 55 NPCs contesting 79 medal events.  For the fourth successive Paralympic Winter Games there were a record number 160 female athletes, 18 per cent more than Beijing 2022.

Highlighting the growing strength of Paralympic winter sport, 27 NPCs won medals, the highest number ever. Eighteen NPCs won gold medals a joint record high, equalling the record set at PyeongChang 2018.