Russia secures second gold at Paralympics

Skier Anastasia Bagiyan won the women’s sprint event, adding to Varvara Voronchikhina’s victory in the Super‑G

Russian cross‑country skier Anastasia Bagiyan claimed gold in the women's sprint event at the 2026 Paralympics in Italy on Tuesday, securing the second top‑podium finish for the Russian team at the Games.

The 2026 Paralympics mark the first time since 2014 that Russian athletes have competed under their national flag following a decade of restrictions and bans from international Paralympic competition.

Bagiyan, competing in the NS1 category for athletes with visual impairment alongside her guide Sergey Sinyakin, covered the distance in 3 minutes 16.1 seconds.

The 24‑year‑old is a bronze medallist at the 2022 World Championships, three‑time Russian champion and five‑time winner of the Russian Cup.

Bagiyan's gold is Russia's second at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games. Alpine skier Varvara Voronchikhina won the women's Super‑G, or super‑giant slalom, on Monday, marking Russia's first Winter Paralympic gold since 2014. Voronchikhina also claimed bronze in the downhill, while Alexey Bugaev added another bronze in the men's downhill standing event.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory telegram to Bagiyan, praising her “confident victory” as a worthy contribution to the development of Russian and global para‑sport. “Thanks to your excellent preparation, strength of spirit, and character, you have added a gold medal to the Russian national team's collection,” the message read.

Putin previously also congratulated Voronchikhina on her gold medal, praising her for “brilliantly” representing Russia at the games and demonstrating “honed skill and a winning spirit, rightfully taking the top step of the podium.”

On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the success of Russian Paralympians as “a matter of pride for the whole country.”

The Russian Paralympic team was cleared to compete earlier this year after Moscow won an appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the International Ski and Snowboard Federation. The body had barred athletes from Russia and Belarus despite the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) fully reinstating athletes from both nations last year.

The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games opened on Friday in Verona and are scheduled to run through March 15, with six Russian athletes competing across alpine skiing and snowboarding events.