Paralympics 2026 drama: Ukraine slips in standings as team star misses final
Paralympic Games 2026 (photo: Getty Images)
The Ukrainian national team has completed the fourth day of the Winter Paralympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. Despite a busy schedule of performances in cross-country sprint events, the blue and yellow medal tally did not increase on Tuesday, according to the competition results.
Dramatic finals in cross-country sprints
The most realistic medal chances for Ukraine came in the men’s sprint (sitting class). Two Ukrainian skiers reached the decisive stage — Oleksandr Aleksyk and Pavlo Bal.
Bal led the race for a long time but lost to his rivals in the final section and finished fifth.
Aleksyk crossed the line in fourth place, just one step away from the bronze medal. China’s Liu Zixu won the event.
Other representatives in this category — Taras Rad, Vasyl Kravchuk, and Hryhorii Shymko — finished their competition in the semifinals.
Results in other categories and lineup losses
In the standing class, Serafym Drahun finished sixth in his semifinal, while decorated athlete Hryhorii Vovchynskyi failed to pass the qualification stage.
A similar fate befell athletes with visual impairments: Dmytro Suiarko and Ihor Kravchuk were eliminated before the final race.
Among women, Oksana Shyshkova (visual impairment class) came closest to success, finishing fourth in her semifinal.
Liudmyla Liashenko and Iryna Bui also ended their performances at the semifinal stage. A surprise was the absence of Oleksandra Kononova in the semifinal start — despite successfully passing qualification, she did not appear on the track.
Medal standings situation
Ukraine currently has 10 medals: 3 gold, 2 silver, and 5 bronze.
All of them were won on previous days thanks to the para-biathlon team's success. China remains the undisputed leader with 23 medals.
Top-5 medal standings (after four days):
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China — 9 gold, 6 silver, 8 bronze (23)
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Austria — 4, 1, 3 (8)
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USA — 3, 5, 2 (10)
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Italy — 3, 5, 1 (9)
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Ukraine — 3, 2, 5 (10)
On Wednesday, March 11, seven more sets of medals will be contested. Ukrainian fans will be able to support the athletes in five final races in skiing disciplines.
It should be noted that the opening ceremony of the Paralympics-2026 was not broadcast in Ukraine because of the presence of Russian and Belarusian flags.
Earlier, an investigation by Ukraine’s military intelligence established which Russian Paralympians had killed Ukrainians and participated in assaults on Ukrainian cities.
