Winter Paralympics closes with memorable ceremony

ByElizabeth Hudson

BBC Sport journalist

The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics came to an end with a spectacular and joyful ceremony at the Cortina Curling Centre.

This year's Games, which marked its 50th anniversary after the first edition in Sweden in 1974, featured a record 611 athletes from 55 nations in 79 medal events across six sports.

The ceremony, entitled 'Italian Souvenir', celebrated the Games and the achievements of all the athletes with a mix of music, dance and lights.

In his closing speech, International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons paid tribute to the Italian public and the organising committee for the legacy they have created.

But he reserved special praise for the competitors.

"You rose above pressure, expectation and global tension to keep the focus where it belongs: on you and your sport," said Parsons.

"You expanded the imagination of the world. You have shown that excellence is universal and that determination knows no boundaries.

"The Games have not only celebrated sport - they reminded us that when we focus on human potential, sport can unite and empower us in ways few other things can."

The Paralympic flag was also passed to the French Alps 2030 organising committee who will stage the next winter Games, before the flames in both Milan and Cortina were extinguished.

There have been plenty of talking points throughout these Games and BBC Sport looks at some of the memorable moments.

Milan-Cortina saw Russian athletes compete under their nation's flag for the first time since 2014 after the International Paralympic Committee lifted its suspension of the country in September.

The country and its athletes had been banned following the state-sponsored doping scandal, while further sanctions followed after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

But their participation in the Alpine and cross-country skiing events at the Games was not without controversy.

A number of nations - including Ukraine - boycotted the opening ceremony in Verona. A later incident came on the medal podium when German cross-country skier Linn Kazmaier and her guide Florian Baumann turned their backs in protest to Russia's Anastasiia Bagiian and her guide Sergei Siniakin after the Russians won gold in their women's sprint classic vision impaired event.

The six-strong Russian team came away from the Games with 12 medals, including eight golds, for third place on the medal table.

Already a Paralympic legend, American Oksana Masters cemented her reputation in Italy with four golds and a bronze to bring her overall medal tally to 24.

The 36-year-old, who is her country's most decorated Winter Paralympian, triumphed across cross-country skiing and biathlon to win the most golds she has achieved at a single Paralympics - summer or winter.

Masters was born with birth defects caused by radiation most likely from the Chernobyl disaster and spent years in an orphanage in Ukraine before being adopted by an American woman.

She had her left leg amputated at age nine, and her right leg amputated at 14 but has become a sporting star with honours across Para-rowing, Para-cycling and winter sports.

Her Milan-Cortina haul came after she spent three weeks before the Games dealing with infection and a concussion.

Next up for Masters is a wedding to fellow Para-athlete Aaron Pike in Italy before a possible LA 2028 campaign.

For the fourth Paralympics in a row - summer and winter - China maintained their dominance as the leading nation, topping the medal table with 44 medals - 15 gold, 13 silver and 16 bronze - ahead of the United States.

But a new record was set with 27 National Paralympic Committees winning medals, beating the record of 25 from Lillehammer in 1994.

China's achievement followed only one medal - wheelchair curling gold - at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, before winning 61 on home soil four years ago.

This time, they claimed medals in all six of the sports they competed in, winning eight of the 18 golds on offer in Para-biathlon led by a clean sweep of titles for Jiayun Cai in the men's standing division.

But for others, taking part meant more than medals with five nations making their debut, including Haiti who were represented by skier Ralf Etienne, who lost his leg in the 2010 earthquake that devastated the country.

"On the first run I proved that Haiti can ski competitively," he said. "Before the race, I had won."

Hosting the Games for the first time since 2006, Italy wanted to impress as the hosts and they managed that with 16 medals, including seven golds - their best tally at a Winter Games for fourth place in the medal standings.

Snowboarder Emanuel Perathoner and visually impaired skier Giacomo Bertagnolli led the way with two golds apiece.

Perathoner was a two-time Olympian before suffering a serious knee injury, but he has become a star of Para-snowboarding and was a dominant winner in both his events.

Bertagnolli finished with five medals from his five events on the slopes and is now Italy's most decorated Para-Alpine skier.

Fellow snowboarder Jacopo Luchini and skiers Chiara Mazzel and Rene de Silvestro all added to the gold medal tally in a Games they will remember.

Austria's fifth place in the medal table was primarily down to the achievements of one multi-talented family.

Music-loving siblings Veronika and Johannes Aigner shone on the slopes and celebrated afterwards by playing the guitar, accordion and harmonica in an impromptu concert.

Veronika came away with four golds and a silver from her five events, while Johannes claimed three golds and a bronze.

American cross-country skier Jake Adicoff created history as the first out gay man to win a Winter Paralympic title and went on to claim a clean sweep of prizes in the visually impaired division.

And the US Para-ice hockey team showed why they are the best in the world with a fifth consecutive title, beating old rivals Canada 6-2 to win the final gold of the Games.