Russia wins first winter Paralympic gold medal since 2014

Varvara Voronchikhina won Russia's first winter Paralympic gold medal since 2014, capturing the women's standing super-G at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy on Monday.

The 23-year-old, born without part of her left hand and competing in the standing classification, finished with a time of 1:15.60 seconds in the 38-gate course. She raced second in a field of 15 athletes, posting the fastest time thanks to a flawless second half of the run. Voronchikhina reached top speeds of 85 kilometers per hour in the middle section, quicker than any other competitor. She crossed the finish line with a fist pump to applause.

Aurelie Richard of France took silver with a time of 1:17.56 seconds, finishing nearly two full seconds behind Voronchikhina. This marked Richard's second silver medal of these Games, having also medaled in Saturday's downhill. Richard was faster in the first half of the run but lost time when she went too wide and had to cut back in to avoid missing a gate, which would have resulted in disqualification.

Ebba Aarsjoe of Sweden claimed bronze with a time of 1:17.64 seconds, adding to her downhill gold from earlier in the Games.

Voronchikhina's victory comes two days after she won standing downhill bronze on Saturday, which marked Russia's first medal at these Winter Paralympics in 12 years. The gold medal represents the first time the Russian flag has appeared at a Winter Paralympics since the country hosted the Games in Sochi in 2014.

Russia had been banned from the Winter Paralympics following a state-sponsored doping scandal, with further sanctions imposed after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The International Paralympic Committee ended its suspension of Russia and Belarus in September, but the International Ski Federation initially refused to lift its ban on athletes from the two nations. Russia won an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the FIS, and Voronchikhina and her teammates returned to international competition in January. The International Paralympic Committee authorized six Russian athletes and four Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags at these Games rather than under a neutral flag.