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Russia Wins Third Gold at 2026 Winter Paralympics
(MENAFN) Russian cross-country skier Ivan Golubkov won the gold medal in the 10 km sitting event at the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Italy on Wednesday, marking the third top‑podium finish for the Russian team at the Games.
This edition of the Paralympics is the first in over ten years in which Russian athletes have been allowed to compete under their national flag following years of international restrictions and bans.
Competing in the sitting class for athletes with impairments affecting the lower limbs and trunk, Golubkov completed the 10 km course in 24 minutes 5.8 seconds. China’s Mao Zhongwu earned silver, finishing 16.3 seconds behind, while fellow Chinese skier Zheng Peng took bronze, another 2.4 seconds later.
Golubkov, 30, is a nine-time World Cup winner and six-time world champion, but this represents his first Paralympic gold. Reports indicate that he spent his early years in a residential care facility before taking up sport and developing into an international competitor.
His victory brings Russia’s total at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games to three gold medals. Alpine skier Varvara Voronchikhina won the women’s Super‑G on Monday, earning Russia’s first Winter Paralympic gold since 2014, and added bronze in the downhill. Anastasia Bagiyan claimed gold in the women’s sprint event on Tuesday, while Aleksey Bugaev earned bronze in the men’s downhill standing category. In total, Russia has accumulated five medals so far: three gold and two bronze.
The Russian Paralympic team was reinstated earlier this year after Moscow successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against a ban imposed by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, which had barred athletes from Russia and Belarus, despite the International Paralympic Committee fully reinstating both nations last year.
This edition of the Paralympics is the first in over ten years in which Russian athletes have been allowed to compete under their national flag following years of international restrictions and bans.
Competing in the sitting class for athletes with impairments affecting the lower limbs and trunk, Golubkov completed the 10 km course in 24 minutes 5.8 seconds. China’s Mao Zhongwu earned silver, finishing 16.3 seconds behind, while fellow Chinese skier Zheng Peng took bronze, another 2.4 seconds later.
Golubkov, 30, is a nine-time World Cup winner and six-time world champion, but this represents his first Paralympic gold. Reports indicate that he spent his early years in a residential care facility before taking up sport and developing into an international competitor.
His victory brings Russia’s total at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games to three gold medals. Alpine skier Varvara Voronchikhina won the women’s Super‑G on Monday, earning Russia’s first Winter Paralympic gold since 2014, and added bronze in the downhill. Anastasia Bagiyan claimed gold in the women’s sprint event on Tuesday, while Aleksey Bugaev earned bronze in the men’s downhill standing category. In total, Russia has accumulated five medals so far: three gold and two bronze.
The Russian Paralympic team was reinstated earlier this year after Moscow successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against a ban imposed by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, which had barred athletes from Russia and Belarus, despite the International Paralympic Committee fully reinstating both nations last year.
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