Top Paralympic Winter Games moments: Germany

The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games promise to deliver unforgettable moments. Up to 665 athletes from around 50 National Paralympic Committees are set to compete in six sports – Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country, Para ice hockey, Para snowboard, and wheelchair curling. 

Germany has been a winter sports powerhouse, winning 19 medals at Beijing 2022. With less than one year to go until the 10-day spectacle, let's take a look at some of Germany's top moments from the Paralympic Winter Games.

Lillehammer 1994: Reinhild Moeller leads Germany’s medal haul

Reinhild Moeller was unstoppable at the Lillehammer 1994 Paralympic Winter Games, leading Germany's medal haul. German athletes earned 64 medals – 25 gold, 21 silver, and 18 bronze – to finish second on the medals table behind hosts Norway.

Moeller won four gold medals in Para alpine skiing for the second straight Games. She was the most successful athlete at Albertville 1992. She continued her domination four years later at Lillehammer 1994, her seventh Paralympics.

Moeller, a summer-winter dual athlete, competed at nine Paralympics, including seven winter and two summer editions. She earned 16 gold medals in Para alpine skiing and three gold medals in Para athletics.

Salt Lake City 2002: Verena Bentele's perfect campaign

Verena Bentele was one biggest stars of the Salt Lake City 2002 Paralympics, capturing four gold medals in as many events. Four years after finishing with one gold at Nagano 1998, the Para cross-country and biathlon athlete was unbeaten in Salt Lake City.

She won the women's 7.5km blind event in Para biathlon and three golds in Para cross-country (women's 15km free technique visually impaired, women's 5km classical technique B1, and women's 10km free technique B1-2).

Bentele continued her success at Torino 2006 and Vancouver 2010. Following her retirement, the 12-time Paralympic champion used her sporting experiences to make a difference in Germany as a politician.

Vancouver 2010: Gerd Schoenfelder wins four gold medals in final Paralympic appearance

Para alpine skier Gerd Schoenfelder topped the podium four times at Vancouver 2010, his sixth and final Paralympic appearance.

Schoenfelder was the face of the men's Para alpine skiing standing class for two decades - he bagged 22 medals (16 gold, four silver, and two bronze) across six Games. He is the most decorated male winter Paralympian of all time.

In Vancouver, he topped the podium in the men's downhill, giant slalom, super combined, and super-G events before announcing his retirement the following year.

Schoenfelder, who lost his right arm in an accident, was inspired to compete in Para alpine skiing after reading about German Paralympic champion Alexander Spitz. Schoenfelder made his Paralympic debut at Albertville 1992, and the rest was history.

"To win so many medals was not my previous goal. After my accident in 1989, sport was very important and a good possibility to get back my self-confidence. It started with soccer and skiing, what I had done before," Schoenfelder said when he announced his retirement.

PyeongChang 2018: Unstoppable Andrea Eskau takes the spotlight

Summer-winter dual athlete Andrea Eskau bagged six medals, including two golds in Para biathlon, at PyeongChang 2018.

Just six months after topping the podium in Para cycling at Rio 2016, Eskau went out to prove in PyeongChang that she was also unstoppable on the slopes. In addition to her two golds, she picked up three silver and a bronze in Para cross-country.

In the summer of 2018, she was crowned world champion in Para cycling's H5 road race in Maniago, Italy. She capped an incredible year by being selected as Germany's Female Para Athlete of the Year.

"PyeongChang was really amazing. It was my best Paralympic Games in my life, and I enjoyed it very much," she said.

"The highlights (of 2018) were the gold medals in PyeongChang in the biathlon races. I was really surprised and really happy with that."

Eskau also competed in Para cycling at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.

Beijing 2022: Anna-Lena Forster wins two gold and two silver medals

Anna-Lena Forster was the only German athlete to win two gold medals at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. The Para alpine skier topped the podium in the women's super-combined sitting and slalom sitting events at China's Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre.

"I'm not sure which (medal) is the most important one for me because every medal has a big story behind it. Sure, my first gold medal at the Paralympic Games in PyeongChang was a big thing for me. It was my big goal, and I achieved it, which was crazy," Forster said.

"But the gold medal in Beijing, where I can say 'Hey, not only can I do it one time, but also I can do it four years later' was amazing."

At the Maribor 2025 Para Alpine World Ski Championships in February, Forster had a fan club that cheered for her at the finish line. She aims to continue her success in front of her family and friends at Milano Cortina 2026, her fourth Games.

"Cortina is so close to home and a lot of people said they will come and cheer. That is the greatest feeling to know that there will be my friends, my family and it will be a big party there," she said. "The preparation for Cortina will be very intense now. We train a lot every year, but the focus is really on Cortina."

Secure your tickets for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games  

Milano Cortina 2026, which takes place from 6-15 March 2026, is set to be the most beautiful Paralympic Winter Games yet. Ticket prices start at EUR 10 for children under 14, with approximately 89 per cent of the tickets available for EUR 35 or less. Specially-priced Early Bird tickets are available until 6 May 2025.

For more information, please visit tickets.milanocortina2026.org