Germany sends largest Winter Paralympic team since 1994 to Milan-Cortina 2026
The 2026 Winter Paralympics in Milan and Cortina are now underway, featuring 665 athletes from nearly 50 nations. Over the next two weeks, 79 medal events across six sports will decide the champions. Germany has sent a 40-strong delegation, its largest since 1994, aiming for a top-six finish in the medal standings.
China currently leads the medal table with 37 medals, including 14 golds. The USA follows in second place, securing 20 medals so far—10 gold, 5 silver, and 5 bronze.
Germany's hopes rest heavily on Nordic disciplines, where visually impaired athletes are seen as strong podium contenders. Anna-Lena Forster, competing in all five mono-skier events, is among the favourites. However, the team is unlikely to challenge for medals in snowboarding or para ice hockey. Wheelchair curling is also absent from Germany's programme this year. The German Disabled Sports Association (DBS) has dispatched 40 athletes and eight guides to the Games. This marks the country's largest Winter Paralympic delegation since Lillehammer in 1994, when 43 athletes competed. The events include para-eishockey, para-snowboard (with banked slalom), and rollstuhlcurling (including mixed doubles), though these are grouped under broader categories in the official programme.
The Paralympics will conclude on March 15, with Germany targeting a top-six position in the overall medal count. Success is expected to come mainly from Nordic events, where the team fields its strongest contenders. The final standings will reveal whether the delegation's size translates into podium finishes.
