The 2026 Winter Olympics proved that women truly belong in adventure sport. We witnessed extraordinary athletes pushing limits, taking risks, and pursuing the sports they love.
Now our attention turns to the Winter Paralympics, with the incredible female athletes of Paralympics GB ready to take their place in the spotlight. Who are they and where can you tune in to cheer them on? Find out everything you need to know below.
The 2026 Winter Paralympics will be held between Friday 6th and Sunday 15th March.
The Games are being held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in northern Italy. This will be the third Paralympics hosted in Italy, following the 1960 Games in Rome and the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Turin.
The 2026 Winter Paralympics will be available to watch on Channel 4. This marks the broadcasters eighth consecutive Paralympic Games since London 2012, continuing its mission to bring Paralympic sport to the mainstream.
Para Alpine Skiing
Para Biathlon
Para Cross-country Skiing
Para Ice Hockey
Para Snowboard
Wheelchair curling
Paralympics GB Women to Watch
Jo Butterfield MBE: British curler Jo Butterfield won club throw gold back in Rio in 2016, but has now set her sights on becoming the first British athlete to win gold at both summer and winter Paralympics. She won bronze in the mixed doubles tournament at the World Wheelchair Curling Championships in 2023 and will be looking to upgrade her medal this year with her curling partner Jason Kean.
Karen Aspey: Karen Aspey originally started her sports career in wheelchair racing, powerlifting and wheelchair basketball. Growing up, Karen had ambitions to represent ParalympicsGB, but in her own words, ‘never quite got there’ until she was invited to a wheelchair curling come-and-try day in 2021. Two years later, she made her international debut, and in 2024 was part of the GB team to win bronze at the B World Championships.
Nina Sparks: Nina is Paralympics GB’s first ever female snowboarder. She first learnt snowboarding at age 13 after falling in love with the mountains on a family holiday to Switzerland. After being diagnosed with MS in 2021, nerve damage in Nina’s right leg set her on a path to being classified as a Para Snowboarder later that year.
Menna Fitzpatrick: Menna became the most decorated British Winter Paralympian in history when she won Super-G silver in Beijing 2022, skiing with sight guide Gary Smith. She then added Super Combined bronze 24 hours later to take her overall Paralympic medal tally to six. She learned to ski when she was five-years-old, skiing behind her dad on family holidays.
Hester Poole: British skier Hester Poole is making her Paralympic debut at Milano Cortina 2026. At just 18 years old, Hester is balancing school studies with training in the GB Snowsport Team. She began skiing at six-years-old and competed international for the first time at 12, guided by her brother Benjie.
During the Games, we’ll be keeping track of the traditional Paralympic medal tables, but with a twist. We’ll break down the results by gender and find out which nations are championing their female athletes.
We’ll be updating the tables daily – check back to see how tracking medals by gender changes the results!
Women’s history at the Winter Paralympics
The first Winter Paralympics were held in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. Like the Summer Games, they aimed to support the rehabilitation of soldiers injured in World War II through sport.
Austrian skier and double-leg amputee Sepp Zwicknagle pioneered snow sports for disabled athletes. By experimenting with prosthetics in skiing, he helped lead to the first official world ski competition for physically impaired athletes in 1974, paving the way for the inaugural Winter Games two years later.
The first Games featured Alpine and Nordic skiing for amputee and visually impaired athletes, with 198 competitors from 16 countries. It was also the first Paralympics to include athletes with impairments other than wheelchair users.
Women were never formally banned from the Winter Paralympics, but participation trailed behind men’s. In 2026, male athletes still outnumber female competitors, despite significant growth in women’s sport in recent years.
At Milano Cortina, there will be 39 medal events for men and 35 for women. Of 665 total athlete quota places, 323 are allocated to men and 176 to women, with 166 gender-free spots open to either sex, according to the International Paralympic Committee.
Our research into the 2024 Paralympics found that 6 in 10 disabled girls were inspired to try a new sport. It’s vital we continue to showcase elite disabled female athletes, so that every girl knows there is a place for her in sport.
