Three things to know about the Milano Cortina Paralympics

The GIST: Experiencing curling withdrawals? Same. Luckily, the Milano Cortina Paralympics officially begin with today’s 2 p.m. ET Opening Ceremony, marking the 50-year anniversary of the Paralympic Games. Here are three storylines to watch as it all begins in Italy.

🛑 Several nations boycotting today’s Opening Ceremony: Russian and Belarusian Paralympians will compete under their own flag for the first time since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine following a February decision by the International Paralympic Committee. That prompted multiple countries to skip today’s festivities, though all will still participate in the athletic competitions.

🥌 Who stole the stones?: The curling drama continues — two 42-pound granite stones were taken from the Cortina venue before mixed doubles wheelchair curling made its Paralympic debut on Wednesday. Have no fear, the Games rage on: the U.S. competed in the round-robin stage this morning, while Canada takes on Italy tomorrow at 12:35 p.m. ET.

🏒 American-Canadian rivalry extends to para ice hockey: Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but Team USA and Team Canada are expected to battle for hockey gold. The Americans are going for an unprecedented fifth straight tourney win, while Canadian captain (and flag bearer) Tyler McGregor hopes to lead his team to their first Paralympic gold since 2006.