Team USA closed out Para snowboard competition at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games with Kate Delson and Noah Elliott winning gold medals and Mike Schultz and Brenna Huckaby earning bronze in the banked slalom.
The standout day for the U.S. team featured sunny skies and warm temperatures for the final Para snowboard event. Delson continued her impressive Paralympic debut by winning gold in the women’s Lower Limb competition, posting the fastest time of the field to secure her first Olympic title after capturing silver in snowboard cross earlier in the Games.
“I'm just so happy we get to share this moment with someone who I've literally been watching and has been my role model and my friend and my roommate,” said Delson, referencing Huckaby. “Now we get to stand on the Paralympic podium together. It's the best thing ever.”
Two-time Paralympic champion Huckaby added to Team USA’s medal haul with a bronze medal, continuing her legacy as the most accomplished woman athlete in Para snowboarding. It brings her medal total to five: two golds in PyeongChang, a gold and bronze in Beijing and now a bronze in Milano Cortina.
“I'm so freaking stoked. I've said it before and I'll say it again: There's no one else I'd rather be on that top spot if it’s not me!” said Huckaby, speaking about Delson. “I love sharing a podium with Kate.”
Delson has developed through the sport looking up to Huckaby and they continued to laud each other throughout the day. “I'd say her form is the best of all time out here on the Para snowboard circuit,” said Delson. “The stuff she does to compensate – she's the only one out there today without a knee – and she just has to execute, execute, execute and that's inspiring to see for any rider out there.”
Huckaby responded, “I have to execute because this girl came out of nowhere and has just been crushing us and it's awesome. We were waiting for the next generation and now she's here – and not only is she here, but she's a gold medalist Paralympian. It's exciting.”
Jackie Hamwey also competed and finished ninth in her first Paralympic banked slalom.
In the men’s Lower Limb 1 (LL1) classification, Elliott delivered a dominant performance to secure his name as the “King of Banked Slalom.” It is his second gold in the discipline having won in the 2018 Paralympics. The victory capped an emotional Paralympic campaign, who earlier in the Games captured silver in snowboard cross, marking a remarkable comeback after injury challenges in the 2022 Paralympics that kept him off the podium.
“This is exactly what we worked so hard for,” said Elliott. “I've been working this whole time to try to get up on that first podium spot. And to be here, coming into the banked, my strong suit, after being so close to that gold medal in bordercross, I was really excited to be able to hopefully lay down the best run and to see where that put me.”
Behind Elliott, Mike Schultz added another Paralympic medal to his decorated career, earning bronze in what marked the final Paralympic race of his career. Schultz’s podium finish brought his total Paralympic medal count to four and provided a fitting close to one of the sport’s most influential careers.
“Banked slalom is not really my strongest compared to border cross,” said Schultz. “But I knew if I did my perfect run, I had a shot and I did that twice today. Coming home with the bronze medal is the most incredible feeling, especially when this was the last race in my snowboard career. So I'm just floating inside.”
Schultz will leave a lasting impact on the sport, as he is the engineer behind the legs nearly all amputee snowboarders use to compete.
It was the third time Schultz and Elliott had stood on a Paralympic podium together—twice in PyeongChang and once in Milano Cortina. “If I wasn't on the top of the box, it better be Noah,” said Elliott. “I mean, he's at a different level. That dude is crushing it, and he will be for a while.”
Elliott echoed the sentiment. “My first Games we got to share a podium together and so it means so much to me to send him off like this. To be able to be right by his side on top of that podium, I'm so proud.”
In men’s Lower Limb 2 (LL2), Zach Miller led Team USA in fifth. Keith Gabel, in his final Paralympic appearance, was eighth and Joe Pleban was 11th. Pleban broke his wrist in the snowboard cross and was competing with a cast; he will have surgery when he returns to the U.S.
The four-medal performance in banked slalom capped a successful Paralympic Games for the U.S. Para Snowboard Team. With six medals total across both snowboard cross and banked slalom, the depth and strength impressed the world on the biggest stage.
RESULTS
Women LL
Men LL1
Men LL2
