Virtus, the International Sports Federation for athletes with an intellectual impairment, has launched a campaign to get Nordic skiing added to the programme for the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games ©Virtus

Virtus, the International Sports Federation for athletes with an intellectual impairment, has renewed its efforts to get Nordic skiing on the programme for the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

The campaign is part of a programme that started 10 years ago when a sports classification system, similar to that which enabled the inclusion of the intellectual impairment classification group in the summer Paralympic Games at London 2012, was developed and later evaluated in competition.

This was a collaboration between Virtus, and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) classification research centre based at KU Leuven in Belgium and was completed in 2018.

"Throughout this time and working in partnership with the IPC, our focus had been on securing inclusion in the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympic Games however for a number of reasons, not least the impact of the global pandemic on international competition, this was not eventually possible," Virtus President Marc Truffaut said.

Events for athletes with an intellectual impairment were added to the Paralympic Games programme at London 2012 ©Getty Images
Events for athletes with an intellectual impairment were added to the Paralympic Games programme at London 2012 ©Getty Images

In 2022, the governance and responsibility for managing Para-snowsports was transferred from the IPC to the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Virtus recently met with FIS to discuss inclusion which Truffaut claimed was "a very positive discussion."

He added: "The IPC has a commitment to increase the representation of athletes with an intellectual impairment in Paralympic sport following a motion passed by the membership back in 2017.

"Virtus has continued to grow its ski programme and the recent World Championships in Seefeld-Austria saw our largest entry ever.

"Classification processes are in place.

"Everything is aligned therefore to ensure inclusion in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games, and we look forward to working with FIS to achieve this."

Alpine skiing is among events for athletes with an intellectual impairment offered by Virtus ©Virtus
Alpine skiing is among events for athletes with an intellectual impairment offered by Virtus ©Virtus

Athletes with an intellectual impairment can currently compete in the Summer Paralympic Games in athletics, swimming and table tennis, however the classification group has never previously been included in winter sports.

Events for athletes with an intellectual impairment were dropped from the Paralympics after Sydney 2000 following a cheating scandal involving the Spanish basketball team, before being restored at London 2012. 

The current Virtus programme offers competition in 16 sports, including both Nordic and Alpine skiing.

The Nordic skiing events, including biathlon and cross-country skiing, at Milan Cortina 2026 are due to be held at the Lago di Tesero Cross Country Stadium in Tesero.