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From equipment grants to national scholarships, new funding helps athletes overcome barriers to elite competition.
As athletes compete at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games, the world’s attention turns to the performances unfolding across northern Italy. Over ten days, roughly 665 athletes from around 50 countries compete in 79 medal events across six sports, from Para alpine skiing and snowboard to wheelchair curling.
For many, simply reaching the starting line reflects years of preparation — and access to the right support systems along the way.
Behind every Paralympic appearance lies a journey shaped by training opportunities, specialized equipment and the ability to travel and compete internationally. For athletes with disabilities, the final destination on that journey depends heavily on financial support.
Recognizing this, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and national sport bodies have increasingly introduced grants and development programs to widen access to elite competition. Initiatives such as the IPC’s Sport for Mobility program, which provides competition support grants to athletes and national Paralympic committees, are helping athletes from emerging winter sport nations access the training and international events needed to qualify for competitions like Milano-Cortina.
For athletes from smaller countries with limited resources, that support can be critical. Recipient Oksana Dobrovolskaja, a Paralympic athlete from Lithuania, shared.
“It’s extremely important to have as much support as possible… support to attend international events is so important for us.”
The program also helped new countries enter this year’s Paralympic Winter Games. Through Sport for Mobility support, athletes from El Salvador were able to compete at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in 2025, earning the country two qualification spots for Milano-Cortina. Cross-country skiers David Chavez and Jonathan Arias became the first athletes to represent El Salvador at a Winter Games, Olympic or Paralympic.
Across the Games, 23 national Paralympic committees have benefited from similar development programs, with El Salvador, Haiti, Montenegro and North Macedonia all having made their Paralympic Winter Games debuts.
From Rehabilitation Sport to a Global Movement
The scale of today’s Paralympic Games reflects decades of growth.
The origins of the Paralympic movement trace back to 1948, when neurologist Ludwig Guttmann organized the Stoke Mandeville Games in England for veterans with spinal cord injuries. What began as a rehabilitation initiative gradually evolved into international competition.
The first official Paralympic Games were held in Rome in 1960, bringing together around 400 athletes from 23 countries. Participation has expanded steadily since, as more nations invest in adaptive sport and opportunities for people with disabilities.
Today, the Summer Paralympic Games feature more than 4,000 athletes from around the world and are widely considered the second-largest multi-sport event globally after the Olympic Games.
The Winter Paralympic Games, first held in Sweden in 1976, remain smaller but have steadily grown as new sports and nations join the competition. Each edition introduces athletes from new countries, reflecting the increasing global reach of adaptive sport.
Yet as participation has grown, so too has recognition that access to elite competition is not evenly distributed.
The Hidden Costs of Elite Para Sport
Reaching the Paralympic Games requires years of training and competition, but the financial realities of para sport can present additional challenges.
Specialized equipment — including racing wheelchairs, adaptive skis and customized prosthetics — can cost thousands of dollars. Athletes must also travel to qualifying competitions, access coaching and train in appropriate facilities.
For many athletes, the cost of equipment alone can present a significant barrier. U.S. Paralympic champion Tatyana McFadden, a multiple-time medalist in wheelchair racing, has spoken openly about these challenges.
“A racing wheelchair can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Without the right equipment, it’s almost impossible to compete at the highest level.”
These costs can create stark disparities between athletes from wealthier countries and those from nations with fewer resources. Research on global Paralympic participation has shown that athletes from higher-income countries are significantly more likely to compete and win medals, reflecting broader inequalities in access to funding, infrastructure and training systems.
For athletes in lower-income countries, opportunities to compete internationally can be especially limited. Without financial support to attend qualifying events or training camps, even highly talented athletes struggle to progress through the competitive system.
Funding Solutions to Increase Access
In response, international federations, governments and corporate partners have developed funding systems to support athletes with disabilities throughout their sporting journeys.
At the global level, development programs run by the IPC help national Paralympic committees identify emerging athletes and strengthen training systems. Grants such as those from the Sport for Mobility program, supported by the Toyota Mobility Foundation, help cover travel, training and competition costs for athletes preparing to compete internationally.
The IPC’s development arm, the Agitos Foundation, also supports projects designed to expand para sport in lower-resource countries. Through its grant programs, the foundation has funded initiatives in countries including Rwanda, Nepal and Malawi, helping national Paralympic committees build coaching networks, access equipment and introduce adaptive sport programs.
International federations have also invested in regional development initiatives. World Para Athletics, for example, has organized training camps and coaching programs across Africa and Asia to strengthen national para sport systems and support emerging athletes.
Many countries have also developed national funding systems. In the United Kingdom, UK Sport distributes government and National Lottery funding through the World Class Program to support athletes preparing for the Paralympic Games.
Talent development programs also support athletes earlier in their careers. The UK’s Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) provides financial and performance support for emerging athletes pursuing elite sport while continuing their education, while the charity SportsAid offers annual grants to young athletes to help cover training and competition costs.
In other cases, funding targets the unique costs associated with adaptive sport. Paralympics Australia’s Para-Sport Equipment Fund, for example, helps athletes purchase specialized equipment, while the Para Athlete Barriers Fund provides grants to overcome individual challenges that may prevent athletes from accessing training or competition opportunities.
Together, these programs create clearer routes from community sport to international competition.
Expanding Access Through Inclusive Sport Systems
Even with these initiatives in place, expanding participation in elite Para sport remains a challenge. Access to sport for people with disabilities often depends on whether inclusive programs exist at the community level.
For athletes competing at the Paralympic Games, reaching the starting line reflects more than talent alone. It reflects the systems, support and opportunities that make participation possible.
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