Team USA placed five athletes in the top 10 Saturday as the Paralympic alpine downhill opened competition at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games on the Olympia delle Tofane course in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Softening snow and deepening ruts shaped the day’s racing, with firm morning conditions giving way to a broken surface later in the program that led to multiple crashes and course holds, particularly in the men’s sitting race.

The course featured 39 gates across 2,105 meters with a 635-meter vertical drop. Early racers encountered firm, fast snow, but warming temperatures quickly softened the surface, forcing athletes to adjust their line choices as ruts and uneven sections developed.

Women’s Vision Impaired Downhill

The women’s vision-impaired race opened the downhill program. Austria’s Veronika Aigner set the benchmark early and held on to win gold. Italy’s Chiara Mazzel finished second and Slovakia’s Alexandra Rexova took bronze.

Margaret Gustafson and guide Spenser Gustafson led the American results, finishing sixth in 1:22.70. Gustafson carried good speed through the upper section before the course tightened through the middle, where small line errors began costing racers time.

Women’s Standing Downhill

In the women’s standing downhill, Sweden’s Ebba Aarsjoe won gold ahead of France’s Aurelie Richard and Varvara Voronchikhina.

Audrey Crowley delivered the top U.S. finish in sixth place. The 19-year-old stayed largely on line as the snow softened, keeping her skis running cleanly through much of the course before finishing 5.49 seconds behind the winning time.

Crowley said the course demanded precision throughout the run.

“It’s probably the most technical downhill that we’ve gotten to do all season,” Crowley said. “It has its quirks, but it was great that we got two training runs on it.”

Allie Johnson placed 10th after losing speed late in the run when a wide turn caused her skis to skid across the surface. Kelsey O’Driscoll did not finish after missing a gate while attempting to recover from a wide line earlier in the course.

Women’s Sitting Downhill

Germany’s Anna-Lena Forster won the women’s sitting downhill, followed by Spain’s Audrey Pascual Seco and China’s Liu Sitong.

Saylor O’Brien led the American results in fifth place. O’Brien navigated several blind rollers where racers could not see the next gate until cresting the terrain, briefly drifting off the ideal line in the middle section before recovering to finish 10.47 seconds behind the leader.

Anna Soens fell near the top of the course but recovered and skied to the finish.

Men’s Standing Downhill

The men’s races took place later in the day as the snow continued to soften and ruts deepened.

Switzerland’s Robin Cuche won the men’s standing downhill, with France’s Arthur Bauchet second and Russia’s Aleksei Bugaev third.

In the men’s standing race, Jesse Keefe led the American results in 10th place. Andrew Haraghey finished 12th and Spencer Wood placed 14th.

Haraghey carried speed through the upper section before losing time later in the run as the snow deteriorated, finishing 3.51 seconds off the winning pace. Wood was pushed slightly back over two rollers near the top of the course, which scrubbed speed as his skis cut through softer snow.

Patrick Halgren and Tyler McKenzie both recorded DNFs.

Men’s Sitting Downhill

The men’s sitting downhill saw the most dramatic conditions of the day. Norway’s Jesper Pedersen won gold, followed by Niels de Langen of the Netherlands and Canada’s Kurt Oatway.

As ruts deepened and the snow softened further, crashes became frequent. Of the 23 starters in the race, only 11 reached the finish, while 11 athletes did not finish and one racer was disqualified.

Ravi Drugan finished eighth for the United States.

“This downhill has been more of a mental game,” Drugan said. “The snow’s kind of variable up there. Some soft spots, some fast spots.”

Robert Enigl finished ninth, while Andrew Kurka was disqualified after missing a gate near the end of the course following an earlier recovery from a fall.

“I was definitely in medal contention until that final jump,” Kurka said. “Landing in the soft snow there, the ski just didn’t want to turn.”

Blake Eaton and David Williams both recorded DNFs. Eaton, competing in his first Paralympic Games, said racing in front of his family made the moment meaningful.

“It’s really exciting. I’ve got my family watching me race for the first time in a few years,” Eaton said.

Williams reflected on the experience of racing the historic course.

“To be able to go up there and see the view from the top and come down that final chute — that’s something you check off your list for life,” Williams said.

With downhill complete, the alpine program continues with super-G later in the Paralympic schedule.