Winter Paralympics: Meet the Aigner siblings who are dominating the Milan-Cortina Games

Johannes and Veronica are two of Aigner’s five children. While older siblings Irmgard and Elisabeth do not have poor eyesight, Veronica and twins Johannes and Barbara all have congenital cataracts, inherited from their mother Petra, which causes cloudy vision.

Four years ago in Beijing, Veronica – led by Elisabeth – Johannes and Barbara won nine medals between them, including four gold.

If the Aigners had been a nation, they would have finished eighth in the medal table, above Norway, Japan and Italy.

While Barbara has since retired, Johannes and Veronica continue to dominate the sport.

Johannes has won five consecutive Crystal Globes – World Cup titles – for his successes in all disciplines, while Veronica is a four-time world champion, with two titles each in giant slalom and slalom.

Elizabeth was scheduled to ride again at the 2026 Games, but Elizabeth suffered a cruciate ligament tear on the eve of the Paralympics.

Veronica described new mentor Samer as a “very good plan B”, but added: “When the mentor is a sibling, I wouldn’t say it’s better, but you know each other from birth; you know exactly what the other needs. That’s what makes a team.”

On Saturday, Johannes and Veronica got their family medal campaign off to the perfect start with each taking gold in the downhill.

That night, with Sunday a day off for alpine skiers, a party was held at Team Austria’s home in Cortina, with Johannes playing the accordion on the dance floor.

In the super-G on Monday, Johannes won gold and Veronica took silver. The next day she won alpine combined gold and Johannes bronze.

Of Austria’s eight medals at these Games, six were won, each with two additional finishes in the giant slalom and slalom.

Veronica told BBC Sport that it was “crazy” to be part of such a successful family, and that the celebrations would continue.

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