South Korean para biathlete Kim Yun-ji won gold in the women's individual sitting event at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Paralympics. The 19-year-old finished the 12.5-kilometer race in 38 minutes and 0.01 seconds, securing Korea's first Winter Paralympic gold since 2018. Her victory marks the first gold medal for a Korean woman in the Winter Games.
Kim Yun-ji, competing for BDH Paras, triumphed in the para biathlon women's individual sitting at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Tesero, northern Italy, on Sunday. The event combines cross-country skiing and shooting over 12.5 kilometers, with athletes completing four shooting sessions of five shots each. A miss adds one minute to the total time.
Kim started strongly, achieving a perfect 5-for-5 in her first shooting bout. She encountered a setback in the second, missing twice and dropping to fifth place temporarily. However, she recovered with flawless 5-for-5 performances in the final two sessions, totaling 18 out of 20 hits. Her finishing time of 38:00.01 placed her 12.8 seconds ahead of Germany's Anja Wicker, who took silver. The United States' Kendall Gretsch earned bronze in 38:47.9.
This gold is historic for South Korea. It represents the nation's first Winter Paralympic gold medal since 2018 and the first ever won on foreign soil in the Winter Games. More broadly, Kim becomes the first Korean female athlete to win a gold in the Winter Paralympics and the first to secure an individual medal at any Paralympics. The victory highlights a breakthrough in para biathlon for Korean women, building on previous team successes.