Cross-country skiing, the oldest type of skiing, originated as a form of travel and became a sport in the late 19th century. 

Para cross-country skiing, which was introduced at the first edition of the Winter Paralympic Games in 1976, allows individuals with physical and visual disabilities to compete in races of different lengths using one of two skiing techniques: classic or freestyle. 

Classic technique requires athletes to move their arms and legs back and forth in a diagonal stride while keeping skis parallel inside grooves of snow. Freestyle technique, which typically is the faster of the two methods, requires athletes to move their skis side to side in a manner that resembles ice skating. Both the classic and freestyle technique also are part of the Olympic cross-country skiing program. 

In para cross-country skiing, athletes compete in one of three categories: sitting, standing or vision impaired. Standing skiers compete using conventional cross-country skis, while sitting skiers use a sit-ski, or a chair equipped with a pair of skis. Athletes competing in the vision impaired category utilize a sighted guide to provide direction. Athletes may use poles to propel themselves in all three categories.  

Para cross-country skiing events begin on Sunday, March 8 and end on Sunday, March 15. 

There are four days of competition, beginning with the men’s and women’s sprint classic qualification, semifinals and finals on March 8. The men’s and women’s 20km individual events will be contested on March 11, with the 4x2.5km mixed team and open team relays following on March 14. Para cross-country skiing events conclude on March 15 with the men’s and women’s 10km individual finals. 

Stay tuned on the NBC Para Cross-Country Skiing page for broadcast and streaming information. 

Para cross-country skiing will be contested at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Val di Fiemme. 

Val di Fiemme was the first location in the southern Alps to host a Nordic World Ski Championship, which took place in 1991. Since then, Tesero has established itself as a key destination in international Nordic skiing.

The venue also will host para biathlon as well.

The United States put on a solid performance at the 2022 Beijing Paralympics, taking home eight total medals in para cross-country skiing. This time around, more than a few athletes from Team USA's veteran squad will be looking to stand on the podium in Italy.

Of the 11 athletes named to the U.S. para cross-country roster, eight are Paralympic veterans, and five have been to three or more Paralympic Games. Nicole Zaino, Jack Berry and Max Nelson also will be making their Paralympic debuts at the Milan Cortina Games.

The team will be led by Oksana Masters, a seven-time Paralympian with 19 total medals across both summer and winter competitions. Masters already is the most decorated U.S. Winter Paralympian of all time (she currently has 14 medals at the Winter Paralympics), and just is one medal shy of joining the historic list of U.S. Paralympians with 20 or more medals (she would be the sixth to accomplish the feat). She currently leads the FIS para cross-country World Cup standings in the sitting category, and should be a strong competitor across the various events.

Joining Masters will be Kendall Gretsch, who enters her fifth Paralympic Games with seven medals across the summer and winter competitions. Gretsch currently is second in the sitting World Cup standings, trailing only Masters, and will look to build on her silver-medal performance in Beijing. Sydney Peterson also will be a factor, with the rising star preparing for her second Paralympic Games. During her Paralympic debut in Beijing, Peterson came away with three medals (one of each color), and currently is fifth in the standing World Cup competition.

On the men's side, Aaron Pike is on a mission, looking for his first Paralympic medal at his eighth Games. Pike has found the podium five times this season in World Cup competitions, and will be a strong contender in the sprint races. Meanwhile, Jake Adicoff will enter the Milan Cortina Games as the reigning world champion in both the men's 10km and 20km vision impaired events. This will be his fourth Paralympic Games; he has earned four medals (one gold and three silver) since making his debut in Sochi.