All about Para snowboard: Eight medals up for grabs at 2026 Paralympic Winter Games

The most recent sport to be added to the Paralympic Winter Games program, Para snowboard has emerged as a must-watch event.

Set for its fourth Games at Milano Cortina 2026, the popular sport has grown significantly since its first appearance. Canada too has developed its stature in Para snowboard, with stars like Tyler Turner and Sandrine Hamel leading the way.

With less than six months to go until the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, get ready to cheer on the Canadian Paralympic Team by learning all about Para snowboard, below:

PARALYMPIC ORIGINS

Para snowboard became an official Paralympic sport for the 2014 Games in Sochi. For those Games, two medal events in the lower-limb impairment classification for men and women were included with 45 athletes from 20 countries competing in the snowboard cross.

At PyeongChang 2018, Para snowboard featured 10 medal events. For men, there were events for upper limb and two lower limb classifications, while for women there were events for two lower limb classifications.

The Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games featured 75 athletes from 21 countries who competed in eight medal events covering banked slalom and snowboard cross.

CLASSIFICATION PRIMER

Para snowboard offers three sport classes for both men and women.

SB-LL1: Snowboarders have a significant impairment in one leg, or a significant combined impairment in two legs. Athletes with amputations can use prostheses during the races.

SB-LL2: Snowboarders have an impairment in one or two legs with less activity limitation.

SB-UL: Snowboarders have impairments of the upper limbs.

EVENTS

There are two events in Para snowboard at the Paralympic Games – the snowboard cross and banked slalom.

Snowboard Cross: During qualification, each athlete completes three runs down the course with their best run determining the final order based on ascending time. Finals consist of competitors racing in head-to-head heats.

Banked slalom: Each athlete completes three runs down the course with their best run determining the final order based on ascending time. There is only one rider at a time on the course.

CANADA IN PARA SNOWBOARD

Canada is a trailblazer in Para snowboard and has entered athletes in all three Paralympic Games so far.

Sochi 2014

Canada’s first four riders at the Paralympic Games in 2014 were Michelle Salt of Calgary, John Leslie of Arnprior, Ont., Tyler Mosher of Whistler, B.C., and Ian Lockey of Rossland, B.C. Leslie’s sixth was the best result for Canada in the SB-LL2 snowboard cross.

PyeongChang 2018

In 2018, Salt and Leslie returned with new teammates Sandrine Hamel of St-Sauveur, Que., Andrew Genge of Oshawa, Ont., Colton Little of Wawa, Ont., Alex Massie of Barrie, Ont., and Curt Minard of Weyburn, Sask.

Salt was the top Canadian with fourth in the women’s SB-LL1 snowboard cross. The seven-member team is Canada’s largest Para snowboard squad so far at the Games.

Beijing 2022

After just missing the medals in 2014 and 2018, Canada brought home its first three medals in the sport at the Beijing 2022 Games.

Double leg amputee Tyler Turner of Campbell River, B.C. triumphed in the men’s SB-LL1 and added a bronze in the banked slalom. Lisa DeJong of Saskatoon took silver in the women’s SB-LL2 snowboard cross. It was the first Paralympic Games participation for both.

Hamel and Massie, two national team fixtures, returned for a second Games in the Chinese capital.

LOOKING AHEAD AT MILANO CORTINA

At the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, Para snowboard will be contested at the Cortina Para Snowboard Park in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

There are eight medals up for grabs. The women’s competition has two events, the SB-LL2 banked slalom and SB-LL2 snowboard cross. The men have the other six with the SB-LL1, SB-LL2 and SB-UL in banked slalom and snowboard cross.

The current schedule will see the Para snowboard cross qualifiers for both men and women on March 7, followed by the finals the next day March 8. The banked slalom is then set for the penultimate day of the Games on March 14.