The Winter Paralympics are almost here. These are the athletes you need to know.

The Milan Cortina Paralympics — the 50th anniversary of the first Winter Paralympic Games — start in 100 days in breathtaking style with an opening ceremony at Verona Arena, a nearly 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheater

The Milan Cortina Paralympics — the 50th anniversary of the first Winter Paralympic Games — start in 100 days in breathtaking style with an opening ceremony at Verona Arena, a nearly 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheater.

That will be followed by 79 events in six sports over nine days of medal competition. The U.S., Canada and Ukraine have been the most consistent winners in recent Winter Games, though China won twice as many medals as anybody else when it hosted the last Games in 2022.

In addition to the medal count, the top anticipated storylines include the return of Oksana Masters (the American record-holder with 14 Winter Paralympic medals), yet another USA-Canada hockey rivalry and a new event that will feature a former UConn basketball player who appeared in “The Last Dance.”

If going by total medals won, Masters already stands alone in American Winter Paralympic history after just three Games. At the last edition in 2022, she won seven medals between Para biathlon and cross-country skiing, including three golds, to reach 14 career Winter Paralympic medals (and 19 medals when including her Summer Games results).

Gold medalist Oksana Masters of Team United States celebrates winning during the Women's H5 Road Race on day eight of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games on Sep. 5.Michael Steele / Getty Images fileMasters broke the U.S. career winter medals record shared by Alpine skiers Sarah Billmeier and Sarah Will, who each won 13 medals from 1992-2002. Will still owns the American record of 12 Winter Paralympic gold medals, with Masters far back at five.