Audrey Crowley was the top American on Team USA in her first Paralympic Games, taking fifth in the alpine combined.

Just one day after the super-G, the alpine athletes returned to the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre Tuesday at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games for the alpine combined, which involves a super-G run followed by a slalom run and requires athletes to balance speed with technical precision. With little room for error across two vastly different disciplines, the event proved challenging for the field, but several athletes delivered strong performances.

In women’s standing classification, Crowley led the Americans with a fifth-place finish, skiing two solid runs to remain in contention throughout the event. Kelsey O’Driscoll finished eighth with a top-three result in super-G, but had a tough time battling the slalom portion. Allie Johnson placed 13th.

In the women’s vision impaired race, Meg Gustafson and guide Spenser Gustafson skied to seventh place with a composed performance across both runs.

The women’s sitting race saw strong potential early from Anna Soens, who delivered an impressive super-G run and sat in fifth after the opening leg. However, Soens, who has only been competing at a World Cup level in the 2025-26 season and has limited slalom experience, was unable to finish the slalom portion. Saylor O’Brien also did not finish the slalom run.

In the men’s standing classification, Patrick Halgren, fresh off his super-G silver medal on Monday, finished seventh overall after two competitive runs. Just behind him, Spencer Wood delivered a standout performance, finishing eighth, his best Paralympic result in his career. Andrew Haraghey, Jesse Keefe and Tyler McKenzie did not finish the super-G. 

In the men’s sitting event, Ravi Drugan was the top American finisher in 11th, with Rob Enigel taking 14th. Andrew Kurka, who captured bronze in the super-G, put himself in strong position early and sat fifth after the super-G run, but was unable to complete the slalom portion. Blake Eaton also did not finish the slalom, while Matthew Brewer did not finish the super-G.

Para alpine has a day off on Wednesday with competition continuing in Cortina with giant slalom and slalom, giving Team USA more opportunities to push for podium results as the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games continue in the Italian Dolomites.

RESULTS
Women’s Alpine Combined
VI
Standing
Sitting

Men’s Alpine Combined
Standing
Sitting

Team USA earned two medals in the super-G at this Tofane Alpine Skiing Center at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games with Patrick Halgren taking a silver in standing and Andrew Kurka a bronze in sitting. 

In the speed event under sunny skies, Halgren laid down an aggressive run to claim the silver medal, finishing just 0.98 seconds behind Switzerland’s Robin Cuche, who took gold. France’s Jules Segers secured bronze.  

Halgren attacked the course from the start, carrying speed through the sweeping turns and technical terrain to finish just .98 seconds behind the dominant Cuche. Halgren’s performance was unexpected, considering he never finished on the World Cup podium, but put down the run of his life with his coaches and teammates shouting with delight at his performance.

“Best day of my life. Until tomorrow. I'll repeat that until the day I die,” said Halgren. “But it’s just another Monday. You celebrate the victories the same way you do the defeats. I’ve been blessed to have to develop my character over the last 11 years – losing my leg. I could either roll over and die or become the best Patrick Halgren on earth.” 

Halgren, who is known for being an off-the-wall character on the Para alpine circuit, created a media circus around himself both in the downhill and then again with his unexpected win in the super-G. He spoke Italian and tried to Hulk-rip his bib off in the finish of the super-G before doing interviews shirtless with his bib wrapped around his head like a do-rag; he dyed his hair red, white and blue in the Paralympic village; he spoke with unabashed randomness and candor about his performance (“I put the pedal to the floor until I see checkered flag or God. And that's how you win.”).

His persona is on the rise, with one media member asking his “What do you say if people call you the rock star of these games?” Halgren’s response: “You’re not wrong. Yeah, I am a rock star.”

Kurka, who has been a stalwart on the World Cup and Paralympic circuit for four Paralympic cycles, added to his medal tally in the men’s sitting super-G, earning the bronze medal with a powerful run down the Cortina course. The podium marks another Paralympic medal for Kurka, who now has a medal count of three: a gold and silver from PyeongChang and now a bronze from Milano Cortina.

Kurka’s result came behind the Netherlands’ Jeroen Kampschreur, who captured gold, and Norway’s Jesper Pedersen, who finished second. 

“It was a close race,” said Kurka. “I had some major mistakes in the course, but I was able to keep my speed up and I feel pretty good about it.”

“In the men's sitting category, we're basically racing motorcycles down an icy slope and off of jumps,” continued Kurka. “Anything can go wrong at any moment on it and if you're not anticipating it then you're going into the fence.”

Rounding out the rest of Team USA, Anna Soens was just off the podium in fourth in women’s sitting. Saylor O’Brien was fifth. In women’s standing, Kelsey O’Driscoll was seventh, Audrey Crowley eighth and Allie Johnson 13th. Meg Gustafson and guide Spenser Gustafson were eighth in the visually impaired category.

On the men’s sitting side, Jesse Keefe was 14th after battling an issue with his prosthetic, with Spencer Wood 18th and Tyler McKenize 21st. Andrew Haraghey did not finish, but is OK. It sitting, Ravi Drugan was 13th, Robert Enigl 14th, Matthew Brewer 16th and Blake Eaton 20th. 

Monday’s results early momentum for the alpine combined on Tuesday, which will feature athletes racing a run of super-G followed by a run of slalom. 

RESULTS
Women’s Super-G
VI
Standing
Sitting

Men’s Super-G
VI
Standing
Sitting

The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games officially got underway Saturday with the downhill on the iconic Olimpia delle Tofane, the same slope as the Olympic alpine races. It was a warm and sunny day with temperatures nearing 45 degrees Fahrenheit and the stands were packed full of friends, family and fans cheering for the start of the Games. Team USA saw several strong performances and Paralympic debuts with multiple athletes delivering solid results on the sport’s biggest stage.

In women’s vision impaired, Meg Gustafson and guide Spencer Gustafson finished seventh in their first Paralympic Games appearance.

The U.S. had a strong showing in women’s standing, led by Audrey Crowley, who placed sixth in her Paralympic debut after struggling with the training runs. Allie Johnson finished 10th. Kelsey O’Driscoll, also competing in her first Paralympics, did not finish after missing a gate but is OK.

“I had a couple of mistakes, but I’m really happy I put it to the finish line and start off these races on a high note,” said Crowley. “No expectations – just keeping it fun, keeping it light. It’s just a race!” 

In women’s sitting, Saylor O’Brien led the Americans with a fifth-place finish in her Paralympic debut, while Anna Soens also made her first Paralympic start but did not finish.

In the men’s standing downhill, Jesse Keefe delivered a standout performance, finishing 10th—a big result for the American who is typically stronger in the technical events. Andrew Haraghey finished 12th, followed by Spencer Wood in 14th. Patrick Halgren and Tyler McKenzie did not finish their runs but are OK.

The snow grew very soft by the end of the downhill in the early afternoon, which led to more than half of the sit-skiers crashing, including Blake Eaton, David Williams and Andrew Kurka. Ravi Drugan led the U.S. with an eighth-place finish in men’s sitting and Robert Enigl finished ninth. 

“This downhill has been more of a mental game but I felt really good in the start and tried to commit best I could, but still made little mistakes,” said Drugan. “The snow is kind of variable up there – soft spots and fast spots - but they did a great job maintaining it. I can’t be disappointed in the time. Good day!” 

A full slate of alpine racing is still to come in Cortina with super-G, giant slalom, slalom and alpine combined scheduled. The super-G is up next on Monday, March 9.

RESULTS
Paralympic Downhill