The opening ceremony in Verona is done. Saturday, March 7 is the first full day of competition, and it's a strong one for Team USA viewers. Medals are on the table in biathlon and alpine skiing. The snowboard course opens. Para ice hockey plays its first game. Here's what to watch and when.

Para Biathlon: Defending Gold and the Comeback Story

The biathlon sprint kicks off at 10:00 CET, which is 4:00 a.m. ET. CNBC is carrying it live.

Kendall Gretsch is the defending Paralympic champion in the sitting biathlon. She made history at PyeongChang 2018 as the first U.S. athlete to win Olympic or Paralympic biathlon gold, and she arrives in Cortina having swept all three para biathlon sitting events at the 2025 World Championships. This is her fifth Games. She's the favorite.

Oksana Masters opens her 2026 campaign in the same event. She's the most decorated Team USA Winter Paralympian, 14 Winter Paralympic medals across five Games. A bone infection sidelined her entire 2024-25 season. She came back and dominated the 2025-26 World Cup circuit. Saturday is her first competitive race at a Paralympics since Beijing 2022.

The biathlon is in Tesero, at the cross-country stadium in the Val di Fiemme valley. If you want to understand how the event works before watching, athletes ski a course and stop to shoot at targets, with missed shots adding penalty time. The sitting category has athletes competing in a seated sled on skis.

NBC runs a primetime biathlon recap at 9:00 p.m. ET if 4:00 a.m. is not your start time.

Para Snowboard Cross: Brenna Huckaby Opens

Brenna Huckaby begins her 2026 campaign on Saturday in snowboard cross, with banked slalom later in the Games on March 14. She is the most decorated Team USA para snowboarder, a three-time Paralympic medalist chasing her fourth gold. The snowboard cross field is her strongest event.

Para Ice Hockey: Team USA vs. Italy, 11:05 a.m. ET

Team USA's para ice hockey program has won four consecutive Paralympic gold medals, and its preliminary round opens against host nation Italy at 11:05 a.m. ET at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. CNBC has the game.

Group A also includes Germany and China, with Team USA playing all three before the semifinals on March 13. Group B runs Canada, Czechia, Japan, and Slovakia on the other side of the bracket.

The gold medal game is March 15.

Para Alpine Skiing: First Events at Tofane

Para alpine skiing gets underway at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d'Ampezzo. The sport runs 30 medal events across five disciplines: downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and alpine combined, spread across nine days of competition.

Where to Watch

NBC and Peacock are carrying the Games. CNBC has the biathlon sprint live at 4:00 a.m. ET and the para ice hockey Team USA game at 11:05 a.m. ET. NBC runs a primetime show at 8:00 p.m. ET covering the day's highlights, including opening ceremony footage and the first medals. Everything is also available on-demand on Peacock.