Visually impaired Russian para alpine skiers Varvara Voronchikhina and Aleksei Bugaev each won bronze in the women's and men's downhill standing events on March 7 at the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Milan Cortina, marking Russia's first medals since 2014 under their national flag after years of sanctions. Meanwhile, U.S. athletes Anna Soens and Ravi Drugan competed in the downhill sitting category.
The 2026 Winter Paralympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, opened with para alpine skiing at the Tofane Centre in Cortina d'Ampezzo. On March 7, Russian athletes competed under their flag for the first time since the 2014 Sochi Games, following restrictions due to doping violations and the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Visually impaired skier Varvara Voronchikhina earned bronze in the women's downhill standing, stating, "For us, it's a really long time when we (were) without (the) flag, and I'm really glad and all my country and all my teammates, we (are) glad also." She praised the atmosphere in Italy. Aleksei Bugaev secured bronze in the men's downhill standing on the same day, with the Russian flag raised during ceremonies—though the national anthem has not played at major events since 2016.
Russia entered six athletes via IPC wildcards, including para snowboarders Filipp Shebbo and Dmitrii Fadeev. Their participation led Ukraine and some nations to boycott the March 6 opening ceremony in Verona, where boos greeted the Russian team.
In the sitting category, U.S. athletes Anna Soens (Oregon native who broke her back rock climbing and summited Mount Hood as the first paraplegic woman) and Ravi Drugan (Eugene resident who lost both legs in a train accident and took up para skiing via Oregon Adaptive Sports) competed in their first of five events (downhill, alpine combined, giant slalom, Super-G, slalom). Races featured speeds over 60 mph on monoskis.
Para alpine skiing categories include sitting, standing, and visually impaired. Finals started at 3:30 a.m. ET, with coverage on Peacock, CNBC, NBC, and USA Network through March 15. The flag's return hints at reintegration ahead of 2028 Los Angeles.
