Delson, Elliott Take Silver at Paralympic Snowboard Cross
It was all silver for Team USA at the Cortina Para Snowboard Park on Sunday, with Kate Delson and Noah Elliott both winning silver medals in the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games snowboard cross.
It was another warm and sunny day in Cortina with athletes racing underneath the soaring Dolomites in front of their friends and family. The conditions were variable, with hard snow on the top of the course that deteriorated to slush throughout the day. But the snow didn’t deter Delson or Elliott, who both put down stellar heats to collect medals.
For Delson, the medal came in her Paralympic debut. At 20 years old, Delson is the youngest athlete on the U.S. Para Snowboard Team, but she navigated the strategic course confidently through the heats and final of the women’s Lower Limb 2 (LL2) classification to secure the first Paralympic medal of her career.
“I've got a smile on my face right now!” said Delson. “This represents so much and I'm so proud to be here representing my country and my family and friends that are here and at home that have been supporting me from the very beginning. Their support has brought the confidence that I get to wear now and I’m so excited to show them this medal and put it over their necks.”
On the men’s side, Elliott battled it out for silver in the Lower Limb 1 (LL1) classification, marking the third Paralympic medal of his career. Elliott has a gold and bronze from the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, but endured a difficult 2022 Games following a serious injury that kept him off the podium. Sunday’s performance represented a powerful comeback for the veteran American, who now has a medal of each color in his collection.
“I'm so proud because I just realized today the silver completes my Paralympic set: gold, silver, bronze. That's really, really cool and exciting,” said Elliott. “But it's just been a lot of hard work these last four years - a lot of sacrifice, time with the family on the road and just constant grind every single day. So I couldn't be more proud to cross that finish line and get my medal today.”
Behind Elliott in the LL1 field, Mike Schultz finished sixth in what will be his final Paralympic Games. Athletes lauded Schultz in the media mixed zone at the end of the day, as Schultz is the engineer behind many of their prosthetic limbs with which they compete.
In the finals of the men’s LL2 competition, Keith Gabel led the Americans in fifth, followed by Zach Miller in sixth. Joe Pleben took eighth after taking a hard fall in the small final.
Behind Delson in women’s LL2, two-time Paralympic champion Brenna Huckaby finished sixth, while Jackie Hamwey was seventh in her Paralympic debut.
With the first snowboard event complete, Para snowboarders will return to competition later in the Games for the banked slalom, the second and final medal event of the Paralympic program.
RESULTS
Women’s Paralympic LL2
Men’s Paralympic LL1
Men’s Paralympics LL2
