The athletes took home two bronze medals, competing under their national flag for the first time in more than a decade Russia won its first Winter Paralympic medals since 2014, with Varvara Voronchikhina and Aleksey Bugaev taking bronze in the women’s and men’s downhill standing events in Italy on Saturday. the first Paralympics event since the long-standing ban on Russian athletes. “I’m really happy. Maybe it hasn’t sunk in yet, but this is my first medal… I really feel proud; it’s very nice! Our flag is flying both in the stands and at the opening ceremony,” she told reporters in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
He also celebrated his national medal three times under the Bugaev flag. more.“I’m glad I can represent my country again… It’s nice to be accused of anything, not restricted, not forced to hide, like in Korea. It’s just stupid!” he told reporters. “We are glad that we can compete regularly and win medals.” The Russian Paralympic team was cleared to compete again in January, after Moscow won an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the International Ski and Snowboard Federation.
The body still bars athletes from Russia despite the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) fully reinstating Russia and Belarus last year. Several Russian athletes were banned from competing after a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) investigation in 2015, following allegations of state-sponsored doping – which Moscow continues to deny.
Dozens of bans were later overturned on appeal to CAS, which said there was insufficient evidence to impose sanctions. The Milano Paralympics are set for Friday, March 1. The Paralympians will compete in snowboarding on Sunday. You can share this story on social media: Follow RT on