When a second isn’t a second in winter sports
by Alison Brown
Since we know you have been watching para skiing at Milano Cortina 2026, you have come across the Factored Time system. This system is designed to allow athletes with different levels of physical impairment to compete fairly against one another in a single category.
Leveling the playing field
Paralympic skiing (alpine, cross-country, and biathlon) is divided into three main categories based on how the athletes navigate the slopes:
- Standing: For athletes with limb differences, generally in the upper body
- Sitting: For athletes with spinal cord injuries or amputations who use a sit-ski
- Visually Impaired: For athletes with varying degrees of vision loss who ski with a sighted guide.
Within each of these categories, however, there is a wide range of disabilities. For example, a skier with a single below-the-knee amputation has a physical advantage over a skier with cerebral palsy affecting all four limbs.
This is a different system than classification. In the Summer Paralympics, for example, you will see several different versions of a race, such as in athletics and swimming. There are more athletes competing in summer sports so athletes are able to be divided into more discrete categories with more precision based on abilities. This is not always the case of course. In winter sports, there are many fewer athletes competing so one category covers a lot of ground but also allows for competitive fields of athletes. Hence, the time factor system to level the playing field.
How the Math Works
The system relies on a factor, or mathematical decimal, assigned to each disability classification. The classification system assigns a category to athletes based on their functional abilities. Classification plays a role in developing the factor assigned to an athlete so the two things are related but they are not the same. For more details on the Paralympic classification system, take a listen to our conversation with Giles Long. This factor is calculated based on historical data and analysis of how specific impairments affect skiing speed.
To determine the final standings, officials use a formula:
Factored Time = Real Time (Clock Time) × Classification Factor
Need an example of how it works? Let’s take a look.
How factored time really works
Imagine two skiers in the Standing category:
- Athlete A has a factor of 1.0000, meaning they are at the top of the functional range for that category.
- Athlete B has a factor of 0.8500, meaning their impairment is statistically calculated to make them 15% slower.
If both athletes cross the finish line with a “Real Time” of 100 seconds:
- Athlete A’s time remains 100.00 seconds.
- Athlete B’s time becomes 85.00 seconds (100×0.8500).
Even though they crossed the line at the exact same moment, Athlete B wins by 15 seconds because they performed better relative to their physical potential.
Why a second isn’t always a second
The factored time system is what allows the Paralympics to remain a truly competitive elite sporting event rather than a fragmented series of dozens of tiny races. The larger groupings allow for robust competition.
You will also see factored time play a part in summer sports where more than one classification of athletes are grouped together. When a race is described by a category, like sitting, standing, or vision-impaired, as opposed to a classification letter and number, such as T32 or F44, expect a time factor system to be in play. You may also find it when several classifications are included in a single race, which can be indicated by the race identified by a range of numbers (T11-12). You will see time factors in the marathon in para athletics and most races of para cycling.
Trust the clock you see on the screen even though it seems to be running in an alternate time world!