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The curtains closed on the 2026 Milano Cortina Paralympics yesterday, March 15th. But the conversation about these women is just getting started.

This year’s Paralympic games had a record-setting 160 women athletes competing, an 18% increase from the 2022 Beijing Paralympics. Competing across six sports—para alpine skiing, para biathlon, para cross-country skiing, para ice hockey, para snowboard, and wheelchair curling—these are just some of the women who inspired us this year.

1. Oksana Masters. Oksana Masters is the most decorated U.S. Paralympian of all time with over 20 medals (yes, you read that right) between the Summer and Winter Paralympics. Masters added five medals in para cross-country skiing to her tally this year, proving yet again that her dominance persists, no matter the Paralympic season.

2. Fukunishi Akari. Fukunishi Akari was the only woman to take the ice this year in para ice hockey. Technically a mixed-gender event, Japan’s Fukunishi made history as only the fourth woman to compete in Paralympic ice hockey.