- Utah Paralympians who trained at Park City's National Ability Center headed to Italy on Thursday.
- The athletes will compete in the 2026 Winter Paralympics, starting March 6 in Milan and Cortina.
- The National Ability Center empowers athletes, this year supporting diverse competitors from the U.S., Puerto Rico and Mexico.
SALT LAKE CITY — About a dozen Paralympians with ties to Utah departed from Salt Lake City International Airport Thursday for Italy, where the Paralympic Games will soon begin in Milan and Cortina.
This particular group of athletes trained at the National Ability Center in Park City and were on the same flight overseas.
"We are heading out to Italy literally right now," Saylor O'Brien, a skier on the Para Alpine team, said. "I am so stoked and excited."
The National Ability Center has long been a training ground for athletes with disabilities, from those learning to ski for the first time to competitors preparing for the world stage.
"The National Ability Center is all about empowering people," Tracy Meier, the chief program and education officer for the National Ability Center said. "So the Paralympics is a true representative of that."
Meier said the center's mission is rooted in the belief that disability does not define the limits of a person's life.
"Disability is a natural part of the human experience. It doesn't mean that your life is over. It means you need the right resources, the right people, the right equipment and the right community to support you, and that is what we have at the National Ability Center," she said. "It is our job to make sure that people know there's so much life to live in and there are so many things that you can still do."
Most of the athletes trained at the Park City facility will compete in the para alpine skiing events.
While many of those athletes will represent the United States, others who trained at the center will compete for Puerto Rico and Mexico.
This year also marks the first time a Paralympian from Haiti who trained at the National Ability Center will compete in the Games.
"We're very excited for our 12 athletes that we have heading over there," said Meier.
The Paralympics follow the Olympic Games and take place at the same venues, often on the same courses.
"We will be cheering for them," Meier said. "They want the recognition of the grit, the determination, everything that they have done to fulfill their dreams and goals. I'd like to say we know that those Olympic athletes were training hard. I'm going to say our Paralympic athletes were training even harder."
As the athletes made their way through the airport with specialized equipment and packed gear, the moment marked years of preparation for many of them.
"We're proud to be a part of people's journeys and certainly proud for those that have been able to reach that mountain that they wanted and are traveling over to Italy," Meier said.
Overall, about two dozen athletes with Utah ties will be competing in the 2026 Paralympics.
The opening ceremony is March 6.
