CORTINA, Italy — Kendall Gretsch and Andrew Kurka have been elected by their fellow Team USA athletes competing at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games to serve as the United States’ Closing Ceremony flag bearers.

They will carry the American flag Sunday night at Cortina Curling Stadium as athletes gather to celebrate the conclusion of the Games. The honor marks the first time two Paralympians have jointly carried the U.S. flag into a Winter Paralympic Closing Ceremony.

“I think the biggest honor is to be nominated by your teammates because we spend so much time together and to be recognized by them, I think is really special,” Gretsch said. “It’s a really special group of people. I’m grateful to be a part of this team.”

For Gretsch, the recognition comes during another multi-medal-winning Paralympic Games. The five-time Paralympian from Downers Grove, Illinois, captured gold in the women’s biathlon sprint pursuit sitting, silver in the sprint sitting, and bronze medals in the biathlon individual and cross-country 10-kilometer races. She will race on Sunday before the closing ceremony in the Women’s 20km Interval Start Sitting.

Gretsch first reached the top of the Paralympic podium at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games, where she won two gold medals in Para Nordic skiing. Three years later, she won the paratriathlon title at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, becoming one of only a handful of Americans to win gold at both the summer and winter Paralympic Games. Across both sports, she now owns 11 Paralympic medals.

Her preparation for the winter season has followed the steady rhythm typical of elite nordic athletes. Training often involves six days a week of sessions on snow and in the gym, combining endurance work with intervals and strength training as she balances the demands of both cross-country skiing and biathlon.

While Gretsch has built one of the deepest resumes on Team USA, her co-flag bearer Kurka has long been a fixture in para alpine skiing.

The three-time Paralympian from Palmer, Alaska, added another chapter to his career in Cortina with a bronze medal in the Men’s Super-G Sitting event. The podium finish joined the gold and silver medals he won at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games and continued a career that has also included multiple World Championship medals.

For Kurka, the Closing Ceremony carries added meaning. His Paralympic journey began with disappointment at the Sochi 2014 Games, when a training injury forced him out before he could compete.

Four years later in PyeongChang, he returned to claim Downhill Sitting gold and Super-G Sitting silver, becoming the first Paralympic medalist from his home state of Alaska.

“It’s an honor to be the Closing Ceremony flag bearer,” Kurka said. “It’s been a career filled with ups and downs, but even the small victories count for me. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next for my team.”

Throughout his career, Kurka has built a reputation for attacking difficult courses. That approach remained evident in Cortina, where steep terrain and large jumps made the alpine events among the most demanding of the Games.

As the Games close in Cortina, the two veterans will walk side by side with the American flag, representing Team USA at the final moment of the Paralympic Winter Games.