CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy, March 3 (Xinhua) — Ahead of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, about 350 athletes have checked into the Cortina Paralympic Village in an Alpine valley, a village supervisor stated Tuesday.
“We are likely to have already a fully accessible village. We experienced it during the Olympic Winter Games, and it went really well. The units are working really good. The athletes and the teams are very happy with the whole facilities, buildings, recreational area and plaza,” stated Clara Van Vliet, deputy normal supervisor of the village.
The village is made up of compact picket cabins adorned with distinguished cultural parts of collaborating groups, equivalent to China’s panda and Australia’s emu.
“We have a very long village, but we have an internal shuttle. They are also allowed to bring their mobility devices to help them go from one point to another in the village,” Van Vliet stated. “The fully temporary nature of the village is something new. It’s important for us to regard with sustainability. It’s going pretty well.”
Pin buying and selling, a well-liked exercise within the village, continued Tuesday as China’s wheelchair curling crew exchanged pins with American roller Stephen Emt.
“This is one team I always want to find right away because we have great relations with the Chinese team. I like the colors of the pins with the panda curling the stone. I love the environment here with the greatest athletes in the world. I have seen old friends and met new friends,” stated 56-year-old Emt.
The Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics will open March 6 and run via March 15, that includes 79 occasions throughout six sports activities. Para alpine snowboarding, Para snowboard and wheelchair curling will happen in Cortina. Para biathlon and Para cross-country snowboarding can be held in Val di Fiemme, and Para ice hockey can be staged in Milan.
More than 600 athletes from 52 international locations and areas are anticipated to compete. China has despatched 167 members, together with 70 athletes, to compete in 71 occasions throughout six sports activities, marking its largest delegation and most in depth occasion participation in an abroad Winter Paralympics.
Wheelchair curling combined doubles, which makes its Paralympic debut, will start Wednesday. China will face Japan within the first round-robin session.
“Our athletes trained hard to prepare for the Winter Paralympics. I hope they can feel relaxed to show their best and pursue dreams here,” stated He Yongju, deputy crew chief of China’s wheelchair curling crew.