Ambitious ParalympicsGB looking good with one year to go until Milano Cortina 2026

ParalympicsGB expect to take a smaller team to Milan Cortina 2026 but believe they can challenge for medals in every sport in which they compete.

That is the view of chef de mission Phil Smith, who will head up the delegation for the second Winter Games running, having enjoyed a baptism of fire in Beijing in 2022.

With exactly a year ago until the 2026 Winter Paralympics, British athletes have enjoyed plenty of success during this cycle, with Beijing medallists Neil Simpson and Menna Fitzpatrick both having made it onto global podiums since their success in China.

And while Paralympic sport is notoriously unpredictable, Smith is optimistic about the team’s chances.

He said: “We are probably looking at a slightly smaller team than we took to Beijing. We are right in the midst of qualification at the moment. We think probably somewhere in the 15-20 range would be our athlete team size. It was just over 20 (24) in Beijing so not hugely different.

“The thing we are really excited about is that we think we will be competitive in all the sports we are going to compete in. So across alpine, Nordic, snowboard and wheelchair curling, in all of those sports, we’ve won World Championship medals in this cycle.

“Paralympic sport, especially Paralympic winter sport is really difficult to predict. We know there will be incredible new athletes, we saw lots of that in Beijing, and winning medals will be harder than ever before. But we know that we will be competitive and we will be in that medal zone and challenging the world. I think that is really exciting and probably a place we haven’t been before.”

This will be the first time the Games have been in western Europe since Italy last hosted back in 2006.

The alpine skiing will take place at Cortina d’Ampezzo, the legendary resort which hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics, as well as multiple Alpine Skiing World Championships.

That aspect is something that particularly excites Smith, who is hopeful that with more friends and family able to support in person, British athletes can flourish on the biggest stage.

He added: “Cortina being an existing resort with such a steeped history of putting on world-class sporting events is really exciting. You can look back at the last two, three Winter Games, they have gone to some incredible places where they have created some amazing environments and amazing venues. But Cortina, you just have to go there, it’s just a small resort but the venue is incredible, some of it was built for the Olympic Games in 1956 when they held it there, that they are reusing.

“When I have been out there a couple of times with our alpine ski team, for them to be able to compete on the slope that is revered around the world as one of the greatest alpine downhill slopes is incredible and something our athletes haven’t had at the last few Games.

“To have that real feeling of being something that is fantastic as a Paralympic Games but also has that history as a winter sport venue as well.

“In Beijing, for our winter team, nobody was allowed to go. But even the past couple of Games in PyeongChang and Sochi, they weren’t necessarily the easiest environments for friends and family to get to. So we are really excited that Milan Cortina offers that opportunity for athletes to be surrounded by their friends and family. To hopefully have loud, knowledgeable crowds supporting them, which will very much hopefully inspire them.”