MILAN — The 2026 Winter Paralympics are underway, and Team USA is looking for a medal haul. Get to know the top American athletes competing at the Milano Cortina Games.
Declan Farmer, Sled hockey
The most decorated Paralympic hockey player of all time, Declan Farmer enters his fourth Paralympic Games holding the U.S. sled hockey record for goals, assists, and total points – along with three gold medals.
Declan debuted with U.S. sled hockey at 14, and the Tampa, Florida native played in his first Paralympic Games at 16. With 420 career points, the forward has tallied a whopping 141 points more than the second-place player.
“It’s like having Michael Jordan on your team. It’s the biggest advantage in the world,” teammate Jack Wallace said. ”You can just get him the puck in pretty much every situation, and something good’s gonna happen.” — Alex Carpenter
Steve Emt, Wheelchair mixed doubles curling
A veteran leader and the oldest member of Team USA at 56, Steve Emt takes the ice for the Paralympic Games’ newest curling discipline, wheelchair mixed doubles.
With more than a decade of experience, the 56-year-old motivational speaker and former UConn Huskies walk-on guard is determined to help Team USA win its first medal in Paralympic curling.
“Our program has come through the roof. The USOPC basically told USA Curling, hey, we gotta start winning medals,” said Emt. “The brass and USOPC have all done a great job of putting expectations on us. We’re in a business. USOPC wants medals. That’s fine, alright … So we’re going to start delivering some medals.” — Alex Carpenter
Oksana Masters, Para biathlon
The 36-year-old Oksana Masters is a dual-season Paralympian, who owns 10 gold, seven silver and three bronze medals across both the Summer and Winter Games. The 20th medal, which she earned March 7 in the women’s sitting biathlon, made her just the sixth American ever to win 20 or more Paralympic medals.
She’s earned six of her 10 gold medals in the winter, holding the title for most decorated Winter Paralympian of all time. Masters is an eight-time Paralympian, qualifying for every Summer and Winter Paralympics since 2012.
Masters’ first-place showing in the women’s sitting biathlon gave Team USA its first gold medal of the 2026 Winter Paralympics. — Trevor McGee
Brenna Huckaby, Para snowboard
Three-time Paralympic gold medalist Brenna Huckaby returns to her third Winter Games in Milano Cortina.
The 30-year-old Para snowboarder debuted at the 2018 PyeongChang Games and came home with gold medals in the women’s snowboard cross and the first-ever women’s banked slalom gold – the only two events she competed in.
Huckaby added another gold in the banked slalom in Beijing in 2022.
Huckaby garners a large social media following while balancing life as a mother of two. She has over 120,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 500,000 followers on TikTok. Huckaby is also a co-founder of the media collective “Culxtured.” — Trevor McGee
Audrey Crowley, Para Alpine skiing
Audrey Crowley is a young phenom who is looking to make waves during her first Paralympic Games.
Crowley, 19, was born into a skiing family and has been looking forward to this moment her entire life.
“This is a really big opportunity to just kind of show everyone what I’m capable of, kind of what I’ve been working toward,” Crowley said.
In her first year competing in the 2025 FIS Para Alpine Skiing World Cup, she won bronze in the women’s standing giant slalom, igniting onto the para skiing scence.
She graduated from the Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy last May and will enroll at the University of Denver this fall. — Jordan Smitherman
Zach Miller, Para Snowboard
Seven-time world cup medalist Zach Miller enters his second Paralympic Games with more to give.
The Silverthorne, Colo. native was born with cerebral palsy and joined his first snowboard team at age 13.
Now, a leader on the U.S. Para Snowboard team, Miller won his first world title in 2022 but injured two discs in his back shortly before his Paralympic debut in Beijing. He competed with the injury but finished 11th in snowboard cross.
The following year, Miller was named the “Best Athlete with a Disability” at the 2023 ESPY awards. Through early competition in the 2026 Games, Miller has already beat his previous best with a 6th-place finish in snowboard cross.
Healthy and ready for the magnitude of the moment, Zach Miller is an athlete to watch. — Allie Campbell
Allie Campbell, Alex Carpenter, Trevor McGee and Jordan Smitherman are reporters for the Paralympics Project, a partnership between USA Today Network and the College of Communication and Information at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
