COLUMN: The 2026 Winter Paralympics are on, it’s time for credit where it’s due
The Winter Paralympics don’t ease you in. They don’t warm up. They don’t politely ask for your attention. They explode onto the ice at full speed, led by athletes doing things that challenge physics, redefine technical mastery and prove that toughness has no single form.
And yet, every four years, these games still struggle for the spotlight they deserve – overshadowed by the Olympics, under-covered by major broadcasters and too often misunderstood by the public. The lack of exposure isn’t about the level of competition. It’s about habit, history and an industry that hasn’t caught up.
Team USA’s Paralympians aren’t here to serve as inspirational footnotes. They’re here to compete in some of the most demanding, dangerous and wildly skilled winter sports out there. If you want to see what elite performance looks like in subzero temperatures, this is where it lives.
Here are just a few of the Americans showing why the 2026 Winter Paralympics deserve your attention.
Kendall Gretsch
Nordic skiing is already brutal: long distances, explosive climbs and a pace that never lets up. Now imagine doing it using only your upper body, powering a sit‑ski across icy terrain while maintaining perfect balance and speed.
Then add biathlon, which requires you to go from heart‑pounding exertion to steady, sniper‑level shooting accuracy in seconds. The physical control required is unreal. Gretsch makes it look like a Tuesday workout. She’s already managed to pull two medals this year as of this writing, bringing her up to nine career Paralympic medals.
Oksana Masters
If there were a Hall of Fame for sheer willpower, Masters would already have her own wing. Nordic skiing in the Paralympics demands relentless upper‑body power and technical precision.
Masters' expertise and dedication are notable, winning her a 10th gold medal this year, the 20th in her career. She pushes a sit‑ski across distances that would break most people’s spirits, let alone their shoulders.
Mike Schultz
Snowboard cross is chaos on a hill: steep drops, banked turns, jumps and multiple riders barreling down the course at once. Now add adaptive prosthetics engineered to absorb impact, maintain edge control, and respond instantly to terrain changes.
Schultz doesn’t just race in this sport – he helped revolutionize the equipment that makes it possible. The speed, the risk, the split‑second decisions required to survive a run, let alone win it, make snowboard cross one of the most intense events in the Games.
Josh Pauls
Sled hockey is hockey, with the volume turned all the way up. The hits are harder. The pace is faster. The sleds move like battering rams on blades. Players use two sticks, one to propel themselves and one to shoot, switching between them in milliseconds.
Pauls plays with a mix of finesse and controlled aggression that defines the sport. The hand‑eye coordination alone is wild. The fact that he is the only sled hockey player to be a four-time Paralympic gold medalist. Even wilder.
Why it matters
These athletes aren’t competing in “adapted” versions of winter sports. They’re competing in some of the most technically complex, physically punishing and mentally demanding events in the world – and they’re doing it with less coverage, fewer resources and a fraction of the attention.
Supporting them isn’t charity. It’s recognition. It’s respect.
And honestly? If you’re not watching Team USA at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, you’re missing some of the most extraordinary performances happening on ice this year. But it’s not too late; the Games continue until March 15.
They’re out making us proud, so we should be showing our pride in Team USA.
It’s past time we treated these games like the world‑class showcase they already are.
BESTON