CORTINA, Italy — About eight inches of fresh snow overnight and dense fog created difficult visibility Sunday during the men’s para alpine slalom at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre.

Racers disappeared into a wall of fog roughly two-thirds of the way down the course, where they often could not see the ruts forming in the racing line. Maintaining speed through that section proved difficult, particularly as the course transitioned into a flatter portion before the final gates.

The limited visibility contributed to a large number of DNFs across the field as athletes struggled to read the course once they entered the fog-covered section.

Visually Impaired

The visually impaired classification opened the race. Team USA did not have athletes entered in the field.

Giacomo Bertagnolli of Italy won the race. Michal Golas of Poland finished second and Kalle Ericsson of Canada took bronze.

Standing

Aleksei Bugaev of Russia won the standing slalom with the fastest combined time across the two runs. Adam Hall of New Zealand finished second and Robin Cuche of Switzerland placed third.

American racers faced the same limited visibility as the race progressed, particularly in the fog-covered section two-thirds of the way down the course where ruts were difficult to see.

Jesse Keefe recorded the top American finish, placing 13th after completing both runs. He settled into rhythm during the opening run, then delivered a smoother second run, staying tight to the gates and carrying speed through the flatter section of the course.

Patrick Halgren finished 15th after completing both runs. He carved sharp lines through the upper portion of the first run, then recovered from a wide gate midway through the second run before pushing through the final stretch and raising his arms at the finish.

“With this moustache and momentum, anything is possible,” Halgren said.

Several Americans did not finish the race.

Spencer Wood skied out during the first run after a brief course hold delayed his start while race workers reset several gates and slipped the course.

Noah Bury’s race ended within the opening seconds of the first run when a ski released.

Tyler McKenzie completed the first run but lost time after getting into the backseat through the middle portion of the course. In the second run he again leaned back and eventually fell, recording a DNF.

Sitting

Jeroen Kampschreur of the Netherlands won the sitting slalom with a combined time of 1:29.72. Jesper Pedersen of Norway finished second and Takeshi Suzuki of Japan placed third.

Ravi Drugan completed both runs for the United States and finished 18th. In the first run he worked carefully through the course as visibility worsened lower on the hill. During the second run he struggled to generate speed through several turns and finished well behind the leaders.

Jasmin Bambur finished 22nd after completing both runs despite multiple falls in the opening run. After falling and spinning around early in the first run, he remounted and continued skiing. Near the bottom he fell again but still reached the finish without missing a gate.

Bambur cleaned up his skiing during the second run but continued to fight the course, digging his sit-ski hard around several gates and losing speed through the flatter middle section.

Matthew Ryan Brewer did not finish the first run after skiing out near the start. Robert Enigl also failed to finish after bouncing out near the top of the course. Kyle Taulman over-turned through a gate and nearly came to a stop before eventually skiing out.

Across the field, racers struggled to read the ruts once they entered the fog-covered section of the course. In the sitting race alone, 11 competitors did not finish the first run.

Para Alpine Competition Concludes

The men’s slalom races marked the final para alpine skiing events of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games. Competition in Cortina d’Ampezzo included downhill, super-G, giant slalom and slalom races across the standing, sitting and visually impaired classifications.