Voronchikhina wins gold in the standing Super-G after bronze in the downhill.

On the third day of competition at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics, the first gold medal for a Russian athlete arrives. Varvara Voronchikhina (LW6/8-2), 23, from Irkutsk, Siberia, won the most precious metal in the Super-G alpine skiing standing category, finishing ahead of all her rivals in 1:15.60. Behind her was France’s Aurelie Richard (LW6/8-2), who took silver with a time of 1:17.56, 1.96 seconds behind, and bronze went to Sweden’s Ebba Aarsjoe (LW4), who finished in 1:17.64, 2.04 seconds behind.

With the return of the Russian delegation to the Milan-Cortina 2026 Games (it had suffered a double suspension for doping and for the military invasion of Ukraine), Varvara Voronchikhina, who had already won the bronze medal on Saturday in the downhill event, brings Russia back to the top step of the podium after 12 years, exactly since the 2014 Sochi Games, which were held in the Russian Federation. For the first time at these Games, therefore, the Russian anthem will be played and the flag will be raised on the podium at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Center in Cortina D’Ampezzo, as required by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

Comments—  “Athletes such as Paralympic alpine skiing champion Varvara Voronchikhina deserve to be celebrated for their commitment to overcoming challenges not only in life but also in sport.” This was stated to Tass (Russian news agency) by Russian figure skating coach Tatyana Tarasova. “I congratulate her and us for having such extraordinary people, Paralympians, who work so hard not only in life but also in sports, becoming the best in the world. We must understand this, be proud of it, and help them in every way possible,” Tarasova said. “The countries that initially opposed Russia’s participation in the Paralympic Games and the return of the Russian flag and anthem to competitions should get used to the national anthem being played during the award ceremonies,” Olympic speed skating champion Svetlana Zhurova added to TASS. “They will be outraged now, but what is there to be outraged about in this context? Those who wish us ill will get used to our anthem being played,” Zhurova added. “She’s a fantastic girl. It’s good that our guys were allowed to win medals. It’s a shame it wasn’t the whole team, but in this context it’s great that we have two bronzes and now we have gold. Four years ago, we were completely excluded from the Games, but it’s good that this time they didn’t give in to pressure from certain countries,” she concluded. The Russian anthem rang out at the Paralympics for the first time in 12 years thanks to Voronchikhina’s gold medal in the women’s Super-G. Russian athletes returned to compete under their own flag after years of having to do so as neutral athletes due to doping violations and the attack on Ukraine. With the Russian flag flying high during the podium ceremony, Voronchikhina sang the anthem and wiped away tears of emotion with her right hand. At the end, she raised both arms in celebration as the crowd cheered. “It’s really special for me to see my flag at the top of the podium. Maybe I still don’t believe it and don’t understand what happened. It’s incredible. I have the great support of my family, my friends, and all of Russia,” said the Russian athlete, who has been missing part of her left arm since birth and arrived in Italy with five other Russian athletes. The International Paralympic Committee granted wild cards to Russian athletes, a decision that angered Ukraine and several other nations that boycotted last Friday’s opening ceremony. This is the first time the Russian anthem has been played at a major world sporting event since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the first time it has been heard at the Paralympics since the 2014 Sochi Games. When her name was announced before the award ceremony, the athlete was greeted with thunderous applause.