As winter sports take the international stage, the Paralympics spotlight athletes with disabilities competing at the highest level, highlighting representation and inspiring people with disabilities worldwide.
The Paralympic Games are held alongside the Olympic Games every other year, alternating between the Summer and Winter Games, featuring athletes with physical, visual, and neurological impairments competing in a variety of sports.
The Paralympics have grown significantly in recent years, with around 4,400 athletes from more than 170 countries competing in the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, according to the International Paralympic Committee.
This year, the Winter Paralympic Games took place in Milan, Italy, between March 6 and March 15.
The 2026 games included sports such as alpine skiing, sled hockey, and wheelchair curling. While the competition celebrates elite athletic performance, many educators and families say the games also carry a deeper impact: representation.
For students with disabilities, seeing athletes who share similar challenges compete on a global stage can reshape how they view themselves and their abilities.
Alison Rooker, a sophomore at Sequoia High School who lives with several disabilities, said seeing Paralympic athletes compete felt inspiring.
“I felt surprised in many different ways,” Rooker said. “I didn’t know the athletes were able to compete in those sports.”
Rooker has experienced adaptive sports firsthand. During a recent school field trip, she tried ice skating using a support chair.
“I liked ice skating in a chair on my field trip with school. I tried to skate without the chair and fell a few times, but I still had fun. I want to try again,” Rooker said.
This year’s Paralympic Games featured 79 medal events and six sports. This allows for a wide range of inclusivity among athletes and viewers.
“I also enjoyed the bobsledding. Especially watching the bobsled driver run behind the sled and then jump in to steer. It went super fast and looked fun — scary, but fun,” Rooker said.
According to her mother, Nikki Rooker, events like the Paralympics can send an important message to students with disabilities.
“It’s important for kids with disabilities to see people who have similar struggles competing and enjoying sports. It shows them that they can do hard things and that their disabilities don’t have to hold them back,” Nikki Rooker said.
For parents of children with disabilities like Nikki Rooker, having athletes that their kids can look up to is very important.
“Seeing people compete on a national stage who have disabilities or mental health challenges is very important for kids like Alison,” Nikki Rooker said. “It shows the broader public that just because someone struggles with a disability or mental health issue doesn’t mean they are different — they are just people.”
Educators say the impact of representation extends beyond athletics. According to Katherine Sieling, a special education teacher at Tierra Linda Middle School, seeing athletes with disabilities compete can help students emotionally and mentally as well.
“When students with disabilities see athletes in the Paralympics, it helps normalize disability and reduce feelings of isolation,” Sieling said. “They see people with disabilities succeeding and can view them as role models.”
Sieling said events like the Paralympics also expand students’ thinking about what success means.
“We’re often used to seeing only one path to success,” Sieling said. “When students see different paths, it can encourage them to believe they can improve and succeed with effort and support.”
Beyond inspiring students with disabilities, events like the Paralympics can influence how all students understand ability and inclusion.
“Paralympics show that ability comes in many different forms,” Sieling said.
Ultimately, Sieling hopes students focus less on perceived constraints and more on the possibilities.
“I want students to believe in themselves and not put limits on what they can do. Determination, effort, and passion matter more than disability,” Sieling said.
Although many people tune in to the Paralympics to watch elite competition, for students like Rooker, the games can represent something more — a reminder that ability is not defined by limitations.
Whether through adaptive sports experiences at school or by watching athletes compete internationally, many believe representation continues to play a key role in helping students see what is possible.
