Russian athletes take medals at the 2026 Paralympics. What is known

The 2026 Paralympics in Italy are in full swing. The Russian national team has already shown excellent results. Read about the successes of Russian athletes, admission under national attributes and the schedule of performances in the Izvestia material.

About the 2026 Paralympics

The XIV Winter Paralympic Games are being held in Italy from March 6 to March 15. This year, Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo became the host cities. This is the first Paralympic Games since 2014, when Russia participates under its own flag.

At the end of September 2025, in Seoul, members of the International Paralympic Committee held a vote on the membership of the Russian Paralympic Committee, which resulted in the return of the right to Russian Paralympians to participate in competitions with a flag, anthem and other national attributes.

Despite the decision of the International Paralympic Committee, in October the International Ski and Snowboard Federation upheld the ban on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions, depriving Paralympians of the opportunity to qualify for the Paralympics. On December 2, the Court of Arbitration for Sport declared this decision unlawful. The Russian national team began to qualify for the Paralympics.

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The Russian national team at the 2026 Paralympics

Six Russian athletes will compete at the 2026 Paralympics.

Varvara Voronchikhina – alpine skiing

The athlete has won 2 gold and 4 silver medals at the 2022 World Championships in Norway, and 10 World Cup victories.

Alexey Bugaev – alpine skiing

Three-time gold champion of the Paralympic Games in 2014 and 2018, absolute champion of Russia (2013), winner of two silver medals at the 2013 World Championships in Spain.

Ivan Golubkov – ski racing

He won three gold, three silver and one bronze medals at the 2014 Sochi and 2018 Pyeongchang Paralympic Games.

Anastasia Baghiyan – cross-country skiing

Winner of two gold medals at the 2026 World Cup, winner of the "We are together. Sport", the bronze medalist of the World Championship in 2022.

Dmitry Fadeev – parasnowboard

Four-time champion of Russia, winner of gold at the European Cup in the Netherlands in the 2021/2022 season.

Philippe Monzer Shebbo – parasnowboard

Three-time Paralympic champion, champion of Russia-2023, winner of the Cup of Russia-2024, winner of the European Cup-2021.

The success of the Russian national team at the 2026 Paralympics

At the moment, on March 11, the Russian national team has won 6 medals, four of them gold and two bronze. In total, only 6 athletes from Russia are competing at the Paralympics, which shows the highest level of training and dedication of the national team.

The success of the national team did not go unnoticed — Russian President Vladimir Putin sent congratulatory telegrams to Anastasia Baghiyan and Varvara Voronchikhina. And Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev called Golubkov's victory pure superiority.

Anastasia Baghiyan (cross—country skiing) - two gold medals

Anastasia Baghiyan performed triumphantly at the 2026 Paralympic Games in Italy, winning two gold medals in cross-country skiing in the NS1 class (athletes with visual impairment). She won her first victory on March 10 in the classic sprint race, where, together with her leading Sergey Sinyakin, she finished with a time of 3 minutes 16.1 seconds, ahead of German rivals Lynn Katzmeier and Leonie Maria Walter.

The very next day, on March 11, Baghiyan won her second gold medal, winning the 10 km race with a split start, where she covered the distance in 29 minutes 39.7 seconds, leaving behind Czech Simona Bubenichkova and German Leonie Maria Walter.

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Anastasia dedicated her victory to the whole of Russia, noting that it was especially important for her that the national anthem and the national flag were raised in honor of Russian athletes for the first time in a long time. After finishing the sprint race, she shared her emotions, saying that the gold medal turned out to be "a pleasant burden."

Varvara Voronchikhina (alpine skiing) — gold and bronze

Alpine skier Varvara Voronchikhina, standing up, on the very first day, March 7, brought Russia a bronze medal in the downhill discipline with a score of 1 minute 24.47 seconds.

On March 9, Voronchikhina continued to take medals — this time the athlete won gold in the supergiant discipline, showing a time of 1 minute 15.6 seconds. Varvara dedicated her victory to the whole country and to her grandfather, who did not live to see this moment.

On March 10, in a "super combination" consisting of a "supergiant" and a "slalom", the athlete went off the track and finished the competition ahead of schedule. Voronchikhina competes in the LW6 category, which includes athletes with a lesion of one upper limb.

Ivan Golubkov (cross—country skiing) - gold

Ivan Golubkov, competing in men's cross-country skiing in the LW11.5 category (for athletes with significant leg impairments), also won a gold medal at the 2026 Paralympic Games in Italy. During his first performance on March 10, he failed to make it to the finals of the sprint race, stopping at the qualifying stage and not entering the top 12 strongest.

However, the very next day, on March 11, Golubkov showed a brilliant result, winning gold in the 10 km race. He covered the distance in 24 minutes 5.8 seconds, ahead of the closest pursuers — representatives of Canada and Japan — and brought another top award to the Russian national team.

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Alexey Bugaev (alpine skiing) — bronze

Alexey Bugaev, who competes in men's alpine skiing in the standing category (class LW6), won a bronze medal at the 2026 Paralympic Games in Italy. On March 7, he won the downhill with a time of 1 minute 18.40 seconds, losing to Swiss Robin Couchet and Frenchman Arthur Bosch.

On March 9, Bugaev stopped a step away from the podium in the supergiant discipline, taking fourth place and losing only 0.52 seconds to the bronze medalist.

The most dramatic moment occurred on March 10 in the super combined, where the results of the supergiant and slalom are summed up. After the first attempt, the Russian was in the lead with an advantage of more than two seconds, but during the decisive descent in the slalom, just a few meters before the finish, he made a mistake and fell, losing almost guaranteed gold. As a result, the victory was won by Frenchman Arthur Bosch. The Russian, like Voronchikhina, competes in the LW6 category.

Russian performance schedule at the 2026 Paralympics

March 12th

• 11:00 a.m. — Varvara Voronchikhina (giant slalom)

March 13th

• 11:00 a.m. — Alexey Bugaev (giant slalom)

March 14th

• 11:00 — Varvara Voronchikhina (slalom)
• 12:00 p.m. — Anastasia Baghiyan and Ivan Golubkov (4x2.5 km relay race)
• 12:44 p.m. — Dmitry Fadeev (banked slalom)
• 12:44 p.m. — Philippe Monzer Shebbo (banked slalom)

March 15th

• 11:00 a.m. — Alexey Bugaev (slalom)
• 11:15 a.m. — Cross-country skiing. Ivan Golubkov (20 km sitting)
• 13:45 — Ski racing. Anastasia Baghiyan (20 km free style)