Paralympics Day 9: One Day More
The Paralympic Cross-Country competition saved its longest race for last. The 20km event brought more hardware for Oksana Masters, with her 24th medal, and Sydney Peterson, who won her third gold medal of the games.
In the Vision Impaired category, Anastasiia Bagiian won her third Cross-Country gold. Simona Bubenickova of Czechia claimed her fourth medal with silver, with China’s Wang Yue making her fifth podium with bronze.
Sydney Peterson collected her third gold in the Standing Category. Peterson held nearly a wire-to-wire lead, finishing over a minute ahead of Norway’s Vilde Nilsen. Following in third was Ukraine’s Oleksandra Kononova.
Oksana Masters led the field in the sitting category for much of the race, but she was ultimately bested for the gold by Republic of Korea’s teen sensation, Kim Yunji, and Germany’s Anya Wicker took silver with their factored times.
Masters’ bronze medal is her fifth medal in Milan Cortina. She leaves these games as the most decorated winter Paralympian in U.S. history. But with the end of her Winter Paralympics, she told OnHerTurf she already had LA 2028 on her mind. “LA’s been in the back of my mind for a very long time. It’s going to be a special games for the Paralympic movement.”
Culxtured co-founder Dani Aravich had a powerful message for Paralympic fans on the final day of competition. “To everyone who tuned in and watched, thank you. If you’re watching this now, sorry, you’re a part of the Paralympic movement now! You’re in this with us. This movement has the power to change the world and change the way people view people with disabilities.” https://www.instagram.com/reel/DV6O3dxjhEP/?igsh=MmY2ZHk4N2xnOXE2
Milano Cortina 2026 closed out a historic Para Ice Hockey tournament, with the USA defeating Canada 6–2 for an unprecedented fifth consecutive gold, with the US’s Jack Wallace getting a hat trick, while China claimed bronze over Czechia in an equally dramatic comeback. Four nations, four stories — and a record-breaking crowd to witness it all.
Women’s Cross-Country 20km - Vision Impaired
🥇Anastasiia Bagiian/Guide: Sergei Siniakin
🥈Simona Bubenickova/Guide: David Srutek - Czechia
🥉Wang Yue/Guide: Chen Guoming - China
Women’s Cross-Country 20km - Standing
🥇Sydney Peterson - USA
🥈Vilde Nilsen - Norway
🥉Oleksandra Kononova - Ukraine
Women’s Cross-Country 20km - Sitting
🥇Kim Yunji - Republic of Korea
🥈Anya Wicker - Germany
🥉Oksana Masters - USA
Paralympic Ice Hockey
🥇USA
🥈Canada
🥉China
