Winter Paralympics 2026: Australia’s leading medal hopefuls identified.

Following a Winter Olympics that delivered an unprecedented haul for team Australia, the country’s para‑athletes will be aiming to replicate that success as the Milano‑Cortina Paralympics open on Friday. Australia has secured a medal at every Winter Paralympics since 1992, with the peak coming in Salt Lake City in 2002 when the team captured a record six golds.

In Italy, Australia will field 12 para‑athletes and two guides across four disciplines, a modest rise in numbers from the Beijing 2022 delegation. Who are the nation’s medal prospects?

Amanda Reid (Para‑snowboarding – SB‑LL1)

A two‑time Summer Paralympics gold medallist, Reid is set to become Australia’s first Indigenous Winter Paralympian. The Wemba‑Wemba and Guring‑gai athlete began as a para‑swimmer, competing at the 2012 Games, before moving to track para‑cycling. She earned a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and then back‑to‑back golds in Tokyo and Paris, alongside a dozen world titles.

Not satisfied with her dominance on the velodrome, Reid took up para‑snowboarding in 2023 and that same year claimed two world‑championship medals – gold in snowboard cross and bronze in the banked slalom. The 29‑year‑old will be a leading medal contender within a four‑strong Australian para‑snowboarding squad, a notable increase after Ben Tudhope’s solitary bronze in Beijing four years earlier.

Lauren Parker (Biathlon – LW10; Cross‑country skiing – LS10)

Parker, another summer‑to‑winter convert, joins Reid in Italy. The Newcastle native, who captured dual golds in Paris in the triathlon and hand‑cycling road race, will compete in cross‑country skiing and biathlon.

Her transition to snow sports is swift: she first tried them last year and only learned to fire a rifle for biathlon – which pairs skiing with target shooting – in December. “It’s happened so fast, and I’ve put in a lot of hard work, and I’ve had to learn a lot of skills really quickly,” she told the ABC.

Parker will contest six events across the two disciplines, a demanding schedule she knows well; in addition to her two Paris golds, she also earned a silver in the hand‑cycling individual time trial. Both Parker and Reid join a small but expanding group of Australians who have competed at both the Summer and Winter Games.

Australia’s return to para‑biathlon, featuring Parker, three other athletes and a guide, marks the nation’s first participation in the sport in twenty years.

Michael Milton (Para‑alpine skiing – LW2)

Milton, who turns 53 in mid‑March, remains Australia’s most decorated Winter Paralympian, with six gold, three silver and two bronze medals. The Sport Australia Hall of Fame legend last competed at the 2006 Winter Games before a stint as a para‑cyclist, and has now emerged from retirement to chase further success.