Mining liability: how did the Russians perform on the sixth day of the 2026 Games

Russians Yulia Pleshkova and Daria Nepryaeva failed to compete for high places in their respective sports on the sixth day of the 2026 Olympic Games. The alpine skiing competitions turned out to be dramatic — almost half of the participants, including the main favorites, could not finish due to the most difficult weather conditions. Pleshkova reached the finish line in the supergiant, showing the 19th result. Also, the attention of Russian fans was focused on the women's cross-country skiing. Nepryaeva set herself the task of competing for the top 10, but she couldn't do it. The winner was determined in a duel between two Swedes, Frida Karlsson and Ebba Andersson. They have already won gold and silver in skiathlon at these Games before.

In front of the President of Italy

Italian alpine skier Federica Brignone became the Olympic champion in the supergiant. Special attention was focused on Brignone at the 2026 Olympics - the 35—year-old athlete got to her despite the circumstances. In March last year, the girl fell hard at the Italian championships and suffered severe injuries — several fractures and a ruptured cruciate ligament. Federica recovered literally "on a ribbon", returning to performances shortly before the Games.

But it wasn't just the rapid rehabilitation after a serious injury that drew attention to Brignone. The Italian is a true Olympic veteran, and the tournament in Milan has already become her fifth in a row. She competed in Vancouver, Sochi, Pyeongchang and Beijing, and won two bronze and one silver medals. At the same time, she did not have a single Olympic award in the supergiant. And this is despite the fact that Federica can call this discipline a crown: during her career, she won 13 victories in it — more (17) were only in giant super slalom.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella personally came to cheer for the legend and her compatriots. Brignone did not disappoint — she covered the distance in 1:23.41. She beat Frenchwoman Romana Miradoli (0.41 seconds behind) and Austrian Cornelia Hutter (+0.52 seconds), winning her first Olympic gold medal in her career — at the age of 35, at the fifth Games!

The supergiant competition at the 2026 Olympics will be remembered not only for Brignone's triumph, but also for the harsh conditions — heavy fog and snow. Far from everyone coped with them: 17 out of 43 athletes did not reach the finish line. Among the injured were not only ordinary athletes, but also medal contenders. Among them are German Emma Eicher, who won two silver medals at the 2026 Games, Czech Esther Ledecka, winner of the 2018 and 2022 Olympics, and Sofia Goja, bronze medalist at the 2026 Games from Italy. All of them were considered favorites, but they couldn't go the distance.

Russian Yulia Pleshkova also took part in the supergiant. She clocked 19th, 2.91 seconds behind the winner. But it's already a success that the athlete managed to finish, given the weather conditions.

"The Cortina d'Ampezzo track is one of the fastest and most difficult in the Women's World Cup," Leonid Melnikov, President of the Russian Ski Federation, explained to Izvestia. — First of all, because of the terrain. In addition, it should be noted that today there was very poor visibility. When the white snow merges at high speed, over 100 km/h, the microrelief is almost invisible. That's why many people couldn't finish. Yulia coped with the task, she had to finish, it affected her mood. In principle, she passed the track well, her place reflects her result and passing. I am pleased that she was able to pull herself together in both downhill and supergiant, despite many years of absence from the international arena.

Earlier, Pleshkova took part in the downhill. It was not possible to get into the top 20 there, the Russian remained only 22nd. It should be noted that this is the second Olympic Games for 28-year-old Pleshkova. In Beijing in 2022, it showed approximately the same results. She was 18th in supergiant, 27th in giant slalom and 20th in downhill.

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An important experience

The women's cross-country skiing was very predictable. As in skiathlon, Frida Karlsson showed her skills — she reached the 4.9 km mark with a gap of 20 seconds from the competitors. For the rest of the race, the Swede only increased her handicap. Ebba Andersson was expected to take second place, 46.6 seconds behind Frida. But the name of the bronze medalist was a big surprise. The third time was shown by American Jessie Diggins, who broke her rib just a week ago. However, an unpleasant injury did not prevent her from reaching the quarterfinals in the sprint and now taking the medal in the heats — the American was 49.7 seconds behind Karlsson.

Our skier, 23—year-old Daria Nepryaeva, also performed in the cutting. Unfortunately, her race didn't go well — she made an unsuccessful start, arrived at the 4.9 km mark with a gap of 20 seconds and took an intermediate place in the top 10. At the same time, the leaders had not yet spoken. Following the results of the entire race, Nepryaeva dropped to 21st place, 1 minute 55.8 seconds behind Karlsson.

Daria had previously failed to qualify in the sprint, and took 17th place in the skiathlon. However, she does not despair.

"The race turned out to be very fast and dynamic,— Nepryaeva said in an interview with Okko after the race. — In Olympic butchering, everyone sets a very high pace from the very start, and not everyone is able to cope with it. I hope that such tracks become familiar to me. Of course, I want to fight for the top 10, but for now, that's it. It was a little hard for me today.

Daria has one last opportunity to make a big statement about herself — the 50 km mass start, which will take place on February 22. The Russian Ski Racing Federation (FLGR) believes that Nepryaeva is able to show results there.

— Daria tried her best. I think that the performance in the cutting is a good start before the marathon, where the style will be convenient for her," Sergei Kryanin, a member of the presidium of the FLGR, told Izvestia. — There is a long distance there, and let's hope that due to the experience gained at 50 km, she will show the maximum result she is capable of. I hope it will be a prize if she believes in herself.

The next start of another representative of Russia in cross—country skiing, Savely Korosteleva, will take place on February 13. He will run in a 10 km split start race.