Milano Cortina 2026: Exciting day of medals across three Para sports on Day 8

It’s the final weekend of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games and competition kicks off bright and early with a 9:00 start at Para alpine skiing, followed by Para cross-country skiing and wheelchair curling. 

Veronika Aigner one to watch for women’s slalom  

The spotlight will be on the women’s slalom races at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre on Day 8 of the Games. 

Austrian Para alpine skiing legend Veronika Aigner has a chance to win a potential fifth medal from five events on 14 March. She already has three gold medals and a silver in the vision impaired category. 

Aigner and her brother Johannes set an ambitious target to win a total of 10 medals at the Games, beating the family’s nine-medal haul at Beijing 2022. He hascaptured three golds and a bronze and will be back in action on Sunday, 15 March, before the Closing Ceremony. 

Italy’s Chiara Mazzel will be hoping her home Games advantage can help her finish ahead of Aigner in the final women’s race day of the Games. She has a gold medal and three silvers to her name. 

In the women’s standing events, Sweden’s Ebba Aarsjoe will be on the hunt for a fourth gold medal of the Games. 

In the sitting category, the fantastic rivalry between dual gold medalists Germany’s Anna-Lena Forster and Spain’s Audrey Pascual Seco is set to continue. Both also have one silver medal each. 

Gold medal in wheelchair curling 

Canada and China will face off in the wheelchair curling mixed team gold medal game at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium at 15:05 local time. 

The Chinese are defending champions and are going for a golden hat trick. 

“This third gold medal is incredibly important to us," Nana Li said. 

“I think our team is truly very united.”   

Canada have never missed a podium since the sport debuted two decades ago in Italy. 

In fact, Canada won the inaugural competition at Torino 2006. 

“We're going to bring everything we have for China... Obviously, they're number one in the world for a reason. They're an excellent team, but we're going to be hard to beat,” Canada’s Mark Ideson said. 

On Day 7, Sweden beat Republic of Korea in the bronze medal game.  

Team relay in Para cross-country skiing 

Para cross-country skiing continues with two medal events in the mixed and open 4x2.5km team relays. The relays are  stand-out events at the Games, giving teams the unique opportunity to compete together. 

Mixed relay teams must include at least one woman and a range of different classifications. While open has more flexibility for the choice of athletes, and ranges from two to four Para athletes competing. 

For athletes like Canada’s Natalie Wilkie, the relay event is an exciting moment to compete together with other team members. 

“I just love the energy of the whole team in the relay. I race faster and harder because I just don't want to disappoint my teammates. But, yeah, it's always such a great vibe. We're going to be putting face glitter or Canada flag tattoos on,” said Wilkie. 

Para ice hockey classification matches  

The Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena will host two classification games for positions five through eight. Japan and Slovakia will face off in the match for seventh and eighth place at 12:05 local time, followed by Italy vs. Germany for fifth and sixth place. 

Italy beat Germany 2–1 on Tuesday in the preliminary round, before defeating Japan 5–0 on Thursday. Can the hosts finish their home Games on a winning note?

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