The Russian national anthem sounded at the Paralympics for the first time since 2014 when skier Varvara Voronchikhina secured gold in the women’s super‑G standing.
A tearful Voronchikhina received her medal on Monday afternoon, and the Russian flag was hoisted after a commanding run at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre. The international audience offered only courteous applause, yet the victory has already been noted by Russia’s sports minister.
Voronchikhina finished 1.96 seconds ahead of French competitor Aurélie Richard in the giant slalom. Richard’s silver was greeted with enthusiastic cheers from the crowd. The 23‑year‑old Russian said she was touched by the sight of her nation’s flag among the spectators.
“It means a lot to me to see my flag on the friends who came here,” she said. “It’s hard to believe, and I still can’t quite understand what’s happening. Maybe later I’ll see my gold medal. It’s truly special for me.”
Russia’s sports minister, Mikhail Degtyarev, posted congratulations to Voronchikhina on Telegram, noting the country’s first super‑G gold at the Milan‑Cortina Games and the playing of the Russian anthem.
A ban on Russian athletes had been in place since sanctions were first imposed in 2018 over the doping scandal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games and again in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine. The International Paralympic Committee lifted the restriction after a vote at its general assembly last September, and following a successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport last year, the IPC extended “bipartite” invitations to six Russian competitors who would have qualified under normal conditions. Voronchikhina was among them, together with fellow alpine skier Aleksey Bugaev, two snowboarders and two cross‑country skiers.
For Great Britain, the search for a medal continued into a fourth day as leading ParalympicsGB hopes fell just short. Britain’s sole gold medalist from the 2022 Beijing Games, Neil Simpson, placed fourth while trying to defend his title in the men’s visually impaired super‑G this morning. Austria’s Johannes Aigner took gold and Italy’s Giacomo Bertagnolli claimed silver; Simpson was edged out for the bronze by Canada’s Kalle Eriksson, who finished more than a second ahead of the Scot.
Simpson, who usually skis with his brother Andrew as guide, was paired with Rob Poth after a late change. He said the race was decided by “a couple of mistakes” that he will review before the alpine combined event on Tuesday.
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