Meet the Minnesota Paralympians heading to Milano Cortina for the Winter Games
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Over the course of 10 days, around 600 athletes from around the world will compete in the 50th anniversary of the Paralympic Games. Among them, 11 athletes — including two guides — with connections to Minnesota will be vying for gold in Italy across four sports.
The Paralympic opening ceremony will officially kick off the games this Friday and run through Sunday, March 15. See the full Paralympic schedule and results as they happen here.
Liam Cunningham, para ice hockey
The youngest player on the U.S. National Sled Hockey team, 17-year-old Liam Cunningham has been playing sled hockey since he was seven, after being diagnosed with a degenerative bone disorder in his legs.
Originally from River Falls, Wisconsin, Cunningham is currently a student at St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights.
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His older brothers Bobby and Patrick both play hockey for the U.S. Naval Academy.
The eight-team Para Ice Hockey Tournament begins Friday and concludes on March 15. See the full schedule and results as they happen here.
Blake Eaton, para alpine skiing
Blake Eaton hails from Duluth, where he has been sit-skiing since he was 4 years old after he was born paralyzed from the waist down.
He is an accomplished para alpine skier, claiming three national championship podiums, ten FIS podiums, and three Europa Cup top 12 finishes.
In Italy, Eaton will make his Paralympic debut, taking on the downhill, super-G, and alpine combined events.
The para alpine skiing events begin on Saturday. See the full schedule and results as they happen here.
Meg Gustafson, para alpine skiing
At 16, Meg Gustafson is the youngest member of the U.S. women’s winter Paralympics team.
Before making her debut in the Games, she has earned 2 world cup podiums, 4 world cup top 5 finishes, and 7 FIS wins.
Gustafson is sight-impaired and will be aided by her older brother, Spenser, as they race down the slopes in Milano Cortina. She and her brother grew up in Edina.
The para alpine skiing events begin on Saturday. See the full schedule and results as they happen here.
Spenser Gustafson, para alpine skiing guide
Alongside his little sister Meg, Spenser Gustafson has been skiing practically his whole life.
When Marfan’s syndrome caused his sister’s eyesight to deteriorate further in 2021, he was the first choice to be her guide for the Games, allowing her to continue to compete.
At their first World Cup appearance in Germany, they took second, qualifying them for the Paralympic Games.
The siblings grew up in Edina.
The para alpine skiing events begin on Saturday. See the full schedule and results as they happen here.
Max Nelson, para cross-country skiing
Max Nelson is a visually-impaired skier who made his first Olympic appearance as the youngest member of the U.S. Nordic skiing team in Beijing 2022. Fighting brain cancer and a retinal disease, he has faced serious health challenges on his way to the Paralympics.
He is from Grant and graduated from Mahtomedi High School in 2022. In 2021, he won a high school conference race against sighted skiers.
Outside of skiing, Nelson enjoys playing piano.
Nelson will be guided by Gus Schatzlein from Savage for his competitions.
The para cross-country skiing events begin March 10. See the full schedule and results as they happen here.
Sydney Peterson, para cross-country skiing
Returning to her second Paralympic Games, Sydney Peterson has set a high bar for herself. In the 2022 Beijing Paralympics she competed in four events and won medals in three of them.
In addition to her gold, silver and bronze Paralympic medals, she has an impressive world championship record, earning seven medals over the past four years.
Peterson, who is from Lake Elmo, graduated from St. Lawrence University with a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience. Now, her goal is to get a Ph.D. in neuroscience.
The para cross-country skiing events begin March 10. See the full schedule and results as they happen here.
Aaron Pike, para cross-country skiing
One of the few Paralympians to compete in both the summer and winter Games, Aaron Pike is heading to his eighth Paralympics.
Pike’s journey to the Paralympics started after a hunting accident left him with a serious spinal cord injury when he was 13.
Since then, the Park Rapids native has made a name for himself on the world stage.
The para cross-country skiing events begin March 10. See the full schedule and results as they happen here.
Gus Schatzlein, para cross-country skiing guide
Gus Schatzlein is guiding Paralympian Max Nelson across the course in Italy.
Originally from Savage, August Schatzlein graduated from the College of St. Scholastica in 2022, where he skied and ran cross country. Then, he professionally skied on the Midwest-based Team Birkie. Schatzlein met Max Nelson in 2020 and started skiing together year-round in 2023.
He now works as an environmental scientist in Minneapolis.
The para cross-country skiing events begin March 10. See the full schedule and results as they happen here.
Mike Schultz, para snowboarding
An avid racer his whole life, Mike Schultz sustained a leg injury during a snowmobile race, leading to an amputation in 2008.
Wanting to continue racing, Schultz invented a prosthetic that allowed him to snowboard. His company, BioDapt, supplies all of Team USA’s paralympic snowboarders with prosthetics.
Returning for his third Winter Paralympic Games, Schultz has an impressive Paralympic and world championship record, earning two silvers and a gold medal in his previous Paralympic Games and seven medals overall in world events.
The para snowboarding events begin Friday and conclude March 14. See the full schedule and results as they happen here.
Oyuna Uranchimeg, wheelchair curling
Originally from Mongolia, Oyuna Uranchimeg became paralyzed following a car accident in 2000. She started curling at age 43 after seeing a wheelchair curling club in action in Blaine.
In just a few years, she joined the U.S. national team and went to the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, finishing fifth in the mixed team competition. At the 2024 World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, she and her partner Matt Thums went 6-0 in round-robin play before losing in the quarterfinals.
Uranchimeg lives in Burnsville and attended Hamline University.
She says the United States is “the country where I was reborn.”
Mixed doubles curling events begin March 4, two days before the opening ceremony. Pool play starts on March 7. See the full curling schedule and results as they happen here.
Landon Uthke, para ice hockey
Before joining team USA, Landon Uthke played for the Minnesota Wild’s sled hockey team with fellow Paralympian Liam Cunningham.
Uthke helped the U.S. secure a win last year at the 2025 Para Hockey Cup, beating China, Canada and Czechia.
The Albert Lea native has been playing sled hockey most of his life, after an accident required an amputation when he was three.
This will be his Paralympic debut.
The eight-team Para Ice Hockey Tournament begins Friday and concludes on March 15. See the full schedule and results as they happen here.
