San Diego’s Kate Delson wins Paralympic silver in women’s snowboard cross at Milano Cortina 2026 debut

Silver medal in SB-LL2 caps breakthrough weekend for 20-year-old para snowboarder

San Diego snowboarder Kate Delson opened her Paralympic career with a silver medal in the women’s snowboard cross SB-LL2 at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, delivering one of the United States’ early podium finishes of the competition.

Delson earned second place in the SB-LL2 big final at the Cortina Para Snowboard Park in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The women’s snowboard cross SB-LL2 competition was held across March 7–8, 2026, with the medal round completed on March 8.

Delson’s result places her among the first-time Paralympians to reach the podium in para snowboard at Milano Cortina 2026.

The SB-LL2 classification is used in para snowboard for athletes with lower-limb impairments that meet sport-specific criteria, and snowboard cross is contested in head-to-head heats on a course featuring turns, rollers and jumps. The event format typically combines time-trial seeding with elimination rounds leading to small and big finals.

In the women’s SB-LL2 final, Delson finished behind France’s Cécile Hernandez, who retained the Paralympic title in the discipline. Japan’s Daichi Oguri placed third. The race included a late challenge for the lead through the final section of the course, with Delson positioned to contend into the closing turns before settling for silver.

Momentum built before the Games

Delson arrived in Italy with recent evidence of competitiveness on major international stages. At the 2025 World Para Snowboard Championships in Big White, Canada, she won silver in snowboard cross, a result that signaled podium potential heading into her first Paralympics.

Her Paralympic medal also came as the United States posted multiple strong results in para snowboard cross during the opening weekend in Cortina, reflecting depth across categories as competition got underway.

What comes next at Milano Cortina 2026

Para snowboard at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games is scheduled as an eight-event program at the Cortina venue, with snowboard cross and banked slalom among the medal disciplines. Athletes who medal in snowboard cross often also contend in banked slalom, a timed event emphasizing line choice and edge control through bermed turns.

• Event: Women’s snowboard cross, SB-LL2
• Venue: Cortina Para Snowboard Park, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy
• Result: Kate Delson — silver medal in her Paralympic debut

With a silver medal secured in her first Paralympic start, Delson moves into the remainder of the Games with a confirmed podium performance and the opportunity to add results in additional para snowboard events as the program continues in Italy.