The Magnificent Six: Who will represent Russia at the 2026 Paralympic Games?

The 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo will be held from March 6 to March 15. Unlike the Olympic Games, which lasted 17 days, the Paralympics will take place over nine days. A total of 665 Paralympians from 52 countries will compete for medals. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate under their own flags, on equal terms with other participants.

Bugaev and Co.

For the first time since 2014, Russian Paralympians will compete at the Games with the national flag and anthem.

The team missed the 2016 Summer Paralympics due to an anti-doping suspension (its specific reasons have not yet been named). At the Pyeongchang 2018 and Tokyo 2020 Games, our athletes performed without national symbols due to the position of WADA. Before the 2022 Paralympics, the national team was first allowed to compete, but then suspended after the arrival of the delegation to the Games.

Six of our athletes will compete in the Russian national team at the Paralympics. There are candidates for high places among them. For example, alpine skier Alexey Bugaev is a three—time champion of the Paralympic Games.

A native of Krasnoyarsk, he is one of the most decorated Russian athletes with disabilities. Bugaev is a three—time champion, three-time silver medalist and bronze medalist of the Paralympic Games. He also won two silver medals at the 2013 World Championships. In 2013, Alexey became the absolute champion of Russia and the winner of the World Cup. In Italy, Bugaev will take part in five disciplines — super combined, downhill, giant slalom, slalom and supergiant.

The rest of our athletes are also capable of competing for medals. For example, 23-year-old Varvara Voronchikhina is having a great pre-Olympic skiing season. She has won three gold and four silver medals at the 2026 World Cup. The alpine skier is also the champion of Russia, the winner of the World Cup in giant slalom, the silver medalist of Veysonnaz World Para Alpine Skiing Downhill.

The 2026 Paralympics will be Voronchikhina's debut. The Russian woman did not get to Pyeongchang 2018 because of her age, and to Beijing 2022 because of anti-Russian sanctions. In Italy, Varvara is competing in five disciplines at once — super combined, downhill, giant slalom, slalom and supergiant.

Skier Ivan Golubkov will represent Russia in cross-country skiing at the 2026 Paralympics. The Russian athlete is a nine—time World Cup winner and a six-time world champion among athletes with musculoskeletal disorders. In Italy, a Russian skier will compete for medals in sprints and races for 10 km and 20 km.

Skier Anastasia Bagiyan from Perm will also make her debut at the 2026 Paralympics. The girl performs in class NS1 (visual impairment). In her career, the Russian has won three gold medals at the Russian Championship and five gold medals at the Russian Cup. In 2026, Baghiyan was admitted to international competitions. In January, Anastasia won the women's mass start among athletes with visual impairment at the second stage of the Paralympic Skiing World Cup in Finsterau, Germany. In Italy, the athlete will compete in the sprint, as well as in the 10 km and 20 km races.

Dmitry Fadeev has been competing at the amateur snowboarding level for a long time. In 2013, he moved to Novosibirsk from Mezhdurechensk and switched to freestyle skiing. In 2020, during a vacation at a ski resort in Sheregesh, his leg was amputated due to a complex fracture. However, Dmitry continued to practice sports and began competing in professional competitions starting from the 2021/22 season. He has four gold and silver medals at the Russian Snowboard Cross Championships in his arsenal. Now Fadeev is the leader of the Russian para—snowboarding. In Italy, he will take part in slalom and snowboard cross.

Russian snowboarder Philip Shebbo is the grandson of Soviet and Russian film star Galina Polsky. As a result of a motorcycle accident, his leg was amputated. During his rehabilitation, Shebbo Monzer started snowboarding. Since 2019, he has been performing at a professional level. Philippe Shebbo is the winner of the European Cup, the champion of Russia and the winner of the Cup of Russia. In Italy, para‑snowboarder Philippe Chebbo will compete in slalom and snowboard cross.

False explanations

At the opening ceremony in Verona, the Russian team will wear a red uniform with a firebird ornament. The jackets will have the inscription RUSSIA, as well as the coat of arms of the country and the emblem of the Russian Paralympic Committee. Officially, there are no prohibitions on the demonstration of these symbols in the EU countries.

Nevertheless, several of Ukraine's allies announced a boycott of the opening ceremony of the Games. In particular, broadcasters from Poland, Estonia and Latvia intend to prevent not only the appearance of the Russian tricolor in the frame, but also plan to interrupt the live broadcast whenever one of the ten participants from Russia and Belarus appears on the screen.

Such xenophobic censorship is explained by the desire to "prevent political propaganda." Due to the permitted Russian state symbols, about a dozen delegations are planning to skip the opening ceremony of the Games in Verona on March 6. At the same time, no actions are planned to ignore the flags of Israel and the United States against the background of the attack of these countries on Iran.

— Is the opening ceremony boycotted by some delegations? The other day, the president of the IPC sent out another press release stating that if for some reason a delegation does not go to the ceremony, so that it does not turn it into politics," Pavel Rozhkov, President of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC), told Izvestia. — Some countries are beginning to manipulate.

So, according to Rozhkov, the Finnish delegation announced a few months ago that it would not participate in the opening ceremony due to the early start of the competition the next day. But now the Finns claim that they are not participating because of the boycott.

— As for the Ukrainian athletes, we understand the instructions that are given to them in their country, — continued the President of the PKR. — When I instructed our athletes and coaches, I always said: "Do not provoke Ukrainian athletes." Life will get better... Their leadership has a completely different policy. We must be very careful and considerate of our colleagues and brothers in sports.

It should be noted that the IPC and the organizing committee refused to implement media rights to broadcast the Games in Russia. Not only our federal TV channels will not show the competition, but also the Okko streaming service, which was the official broadcaster of the 2026 Olympics in February. Russian fans will be able to watch the performances on the IPC website.