The Milan Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games officially began Friday, and HuffPost will be tracking it all.From medal moments to politically related controversies, we’ll keep you updated throughout the sporting showcase, which marks the 50th anniversary of the first Winter Paralympics.Competition began Wednesday with events in wheelchair curling and para alpine skiing.The opening ceremony at the Verona Olympic Arena, the historic Roman amphitheater, featured performances by The Police drummer Stewart Copeland, Italian house music trio Meduza and more.The Games will run until March 15 with the closing ceremony at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, the venue that also hosted the opening ceremony of the 1956 Winter Olympics.Check out our latest updates here:U.S. Skier Makes History As First Out Gay Man To Win Individual Paralympic GoldU.S. cross-country skier Jake Adicoff has made history at Milan Cortina 2026 by becoming the first out gay man to win an individual gold medal at the Winter Paralympics.Adicoff, who has limited vision in only his left eye, won the men's sprint classic and the 10km classic interval start and is yet to compete in two other events, the 20km and 4 x 2.5km mixed relay. "The higher you get in sport, the less out people that you see," Adicoff, from Sun Valley, Idaho, told Outsports in an interview before the Games. "And I think going to the Paralympics, being a gay athlete there, showing that it's possible to reach this upper echelon of sport as an out athlete and as a Para-athlete, that's super important to me."Read more on BBC Sport:See All UpdatesClose