Austria at the Paralympics: What you should know

The most important questions and answers.

• Who represents Austria?

The ÖPC team consists of a total of 15 athletes and four guides who will guide Austria’s visually impaired skiers across the slopes in Cortina. The selection is led by Markus Salcher (34), for whom it will be the fifth and final Winter Games. The Carinthian wants to add one or two more to his already seven medals (two of them gold). The youngest in the team is 19-year-old Lilly Sammer, who acts as skier Michael Scharnagl’s guide.

• Where do the competitions take place?

The more than 600 athletes from around 50 nations will fight for the medals at three competition locations: The majority of the competitions will take place in Cortina, plus Tesero and Milan.

• In which competitions is Austria represented?

The majority of the ÖPC selection, 15 of the 19 athletes, are challenged in para-alpine skiing. Classes start standing, sitting and visually impaired. There are three Austrians on the snowboard: Rene Eckhart, Oliver Dreier and Markus Schmidhofer. Stefan Egger-Riedmüller, on the other hand, acts as a lone fighter in para-cross-country skiing and biathlon.

• Who has the best chance of winning a medal?

In 2022, the Austrian team celebrated 13 medals – five each in gold and silver, three in bronze. Something similar should succeed this time too. In addition to veteran Salcher, hopes also lie with the successful Aigner family, who have already been busy collecting medals in Beijing 2022. Johannes Aigner (with guide Nico Haberl) and Veronika Aigner (with guide and sister Elisabeth) compete in all five disciplines and hope for just as many successes.

• How does the Paralympics deal with Russia?

While Russian athletes were only allowed to compete at the Olympics under a neutral flag, a controversial turning point occurred at the Paralympics. For the first time in over a decade, the Russian and Belarusian flags and anthems will be a part of the Winter Games. A decision that brought the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) a lot of criticism. Ukraine has already announced that it will boycott the opening ceremony. Other nations, such as the Czech Republic, are following this example.

• Where is the opening ceremony taking place?

This is also a novelty, albeit in a positive way. For the first time ever, a Paralympic opening ceremony will take place in a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The amphitheater in Verona will usher in the Paralympics after the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games. The finale will then take place in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

• Where can you watch the Paralympics?

The ORF will “comprehensively report” on the Winter Games on Sport+, and a daily highlight program is also planned on ORF1. The broadcast starts on March 7th.