When the sun broke through over the Tofane course on Monday morning, Patrick Halgren felt it: this was going to be a good race.

It's a small ritual, the kind athletes hold onto when everything else is noise. Light breaking through clouds over a mountain shouldn't mean anything in particular, but Halgren has carried it with him since his twin brother Lucan Sven Halgren died in a motorcycle accident a decade ago. Lucan was an avid skier and glacier guide. When the sun comes out on race day, Halgren knows his brother is watching.

On Monday, March 9, at the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Patrick Halgren won silver in the men's standing super-G. It was his first-ever Paralympic medal.

Robin Cuche of Switzerland took gold with a time of 1:12.12. Halgren finished in 1:13.10. Jules Segers of France claimed bronze at 1:13.59.

Racing Under "SvendIt"

Halgren has been racing under the mantra "SvendIt" for ten years. It's a play on his late brother's middle name, Sven. The phrase appears on his helmet, his gear, and in every interview where someone asks what drives him.

Halgren doesn't talk about Lucan in sweeping terms or turn grief into performance. He dedicates every race to his brother because that's the deal. Not a public vow, just the private agreement that keeps him dropping into the course when everything else falls away.

Lucan was a skier, and after his death, Patrick kept skiing.

His First Paralympic Medal

Halgren has competed at this level for years. He's been close. He's finished strong without standing on a podium. Monday, he broke through.

The Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre doesn't forgive mistakes. The men's standing super-G is technical, fast, and precise. One miscalculation at the top and you're chasing time you'll never get back.

Halgren threaded the course clean. When his time posted at 1:13.10, he was on the podium with silver. His parents, Kathy and Peter, were in the stands. It was their third-ever trip abroad, and they got to see their son claim his first Paralympic medal.

What This Medal Means

Halgren didn't get here alone. He has carried Lucan with him every step of the way: not as weight, but as reason.

The medal belongs to Patrick. So do the ten years of showing up, of racing through grief, of holding onto sunshine as the sign that someone is still there. But the mantra stays: SvendIt. It's on the helmet. It's in the run. It's the reason he keeps going.

Monday's silver is a first Paralympic medal. It's also the latest race in a decade-long conversation between brothers, one of whom is no longer here to see the podium but has been part of every run anyway.