1News Europe Correspondent Kate Nicol-Williams reports from Italy ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.
New Zealand’s Paralympic athletes are just about to press go on the pinnacle event they’ve spent years training for. Alpine skiers Adam Hall and Corey Peters have a combined nine medals from previous Winter Paralympics and both are feeling confident about their chances of adding to the tallies in the next 10 days.
The Opening Ceremony will be held in Verona before Corey Peter’s Downhill Sitting event takes place from tonight.
Breakfast checked in with the 1News Europe correspondent to see how Kiwi para athletes were going ahead of the games getting underway on Saturday. (Source: Breakfast)
Peters claimed the gold medal in the event in Beijing in 2022.
“It's gonna be certainly a massive challenge, there's probably anybody in the top eight, top 10 that could be on the podium,” he said.
Peters has experienced a longer break from sit skiing than he expected since the last Paralympic Winter Games, with a planned year off for the arrival of his daughter Valentina in late 2022. Then when he returned, he dislocated his shoulder while training in Chile, keeping him away from training for another year.
He returned to compete in other sit skiing disciplines in the 2024-2025 season and competed in downhill sitting for the first time again in mid-December 2025 at the Santa Caterina World Cup in Italy.
He achieved a second place and topped the podium the next day.
“Getting comfortable with going fast is key for me so the more I can train the downhills and the Super Gs and get familiar with those forces and the speeds that we're going to be going, the better. Because there is a lot of forces on your body when you're going through those turns, a lot of G-force so it's about trying to be strong through each turn and make it to the bottom safely.” Peters said.
In the downhill event, Corey can race at speeds of more than 100km/h.
Training alongside Dutch and Norwegian sit skiers in Chile last year was an opportunity for Peters to assess his performance after returning from injury.
“To kind of see that my pace was still up there is pleasing and encouraging.”
He also achieved a second place in the technical Giant Slalom in the World Cup in Veysonnaz, Switzerland last month, among other results off the podium including some races he didn’t finish.
He’ll also compete in the Super G Sitting and Giant Slalom Sitting at the Paralympic Games.
“Throughout the season, there's been ups and downs obviously but yeah, really confident with the way I'm skiing at the moment so I'm going into these games not so much focused on the outcome, just focusing on the process and ensuring that I do all the small things right.”
He spends a third of the year in the Northern Hemisphere training and competing, which he says he’s found hard this season.
“When you're seeing videos of Valentina saying, like ‘When's daddy coming home? I miss him’… Let's say that just definitely makes it harder for sure.”
Five time medal winner
Adam Hall has been on the Paralympic podium five times, first competing at the Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Italy.
His record-equalling sixth Games is a full-circle moment for the 38-year-old, competing in the country where his time on the greatest world stage began.
“I guess pretty surreal but also not something you also reflect on too much when you're in it. But sometime down the line we’ll have the time and opportunity to reflect on all the other places that we've been to lead us to where we are here,” Hall said.
This season, he’s achieved three World Cup podium finishes in slalom standing including a second place in Veysonnaz, Switzerland last month.
“I think that's something that's been quite remarkable and I'm proud of - 22 years on the World Cup circuit and still being competitive and still on that World Cup podium.”
He will compete in the slalom standing and giant slalom standing events.
“I've had a really good World Cup season and if we look back, the last couple of seasons, both have been really good... which has been pretty phenomenal.
“But as we know all, that is soon to be forgotten and what matters most is what lays ahead in the next couple of weeks. So that's what we've been working hard for and challenging ourselves to show up, and in the best possible shape that we can to give us the best chance to do what we know we can.”
His return to training after spending time in New Zealand was delayed at the end of last year when he spent four days in hospital for a foot infection.
“When you look back, everything happens for a reason and it forces you to have a break even though you don't like to have those breaks in hospital, but you often come back fighting, stronger and fresher.”
Hall and Peters have experienced the standard of competition increasing in recent years.
“We try and look ahead to what it is and how it is that I need to be skiing to keep ahead of my competitors and to stay competitive.
“Nowadays it doesn't really matter what colour the medal, I would say whether it's a bronze, silver or gold they all feel somewhat similar.”
Hall said something the public might not know is the word Paralympics means parallel to the Olympics.
“It’s an opportunity really in a platform that we have once every four years to be able to showcase, to our country and the rest of the world, what it is that we actually do day in and day out, which is no different except that it’s on platform that's pretty massive.”
Both athletes reflected on the support from New Zealand, friends and family contributing to them having the opportunity to represent the country at the highest level.
“That support is much appreciated, not taken lightly or for granted and we’ll do our absolute best to represent ourselves and you guys, our communities, family, friends, and everybody that's helped get us into this position,” Hall said.
The athletes have been preparing for this Paralympic cycle with a new coaching team of Daniel Bogue and Sam Lynch.
Bogue said, in recent weeks, the focus in training has been on getting Peters comfortable with racing at speed and putting Hall through different scenarios that occur at the Paralympics.
“They've just got that ability to flick the switch and get it right on the day, they've both proved that in the past and I don't expect this to be any different,” he said about their upcoming events.
Increase athletes' speed
Bogue, who has a background in ski instructing, brings a fresh perspective to the team with new ideas on how to increase the speed of the athletes.
“I'm a relatively new coach, and a new coach to paras, so I kind of come at it from an angle with my background and so we changed some stuff and we talked a lot about what they were doing, and we looked at new ways we could make it better.”
Bogue said the support from physios and the strength and conditioning coach has been “amazing” during this process.
“We're able to keep working on those muscles and on those movements and check that they're moving in the right direction.”
He said one advantage for the New Zealand athletes is their years of experience.
“It’s going to be who gets to the top of the course, does everything mentally well and and just skis well. That’ll be who's on the podium and that's my quiet confidence with these guys, as they’ve been there and done that and I think some of these younger guys coming through have still got a bit to learn in that space.”
Watch live and free Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, streaming on five TVNZ+ channels and DUKE from Saturday 7 March to Monday 16 March.
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