The Para Biathlon competitions at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games produced three days of intense racing at the Lago di Tesero in Val di Fiemme, combining high precision shooting and impressive endurance skiing across sitting, standing and visually impaired categories.

Masters’s opening statement

The opening day set the tone of historic achievements to come as Oksana Masters claimed the sitting sprint title for her 10th Paralympic gold medal and 20th medal overall.

Canada’s Natalie Wilkie emerged as one of the most consistent performers in the Valley of Fiemme. After challenging for gold in the opening standing sprint, she secured victory in the individual and added a further win in the sprint pursuit, completing her campaign without a shooting error.

Ukraine’s Oleksandra Kononova also underlined her experience with a gold medal and two additional podium finishes, contributing to the depth of the women’s field. Kendall Gretsch of the USA and Anja Wicker of Germany also returned home with three medals each. Meanwhile, Kim Yunji, at just 19, produced some of this Games' most memorable performances in winning gold and silver for Korea.

China’s Breakthrough and Cai’s Perfect Campaign

The individual races marked a decisive shift, with China delivering a commanding performance, including four gold medals in a single day.

Cai Jiayun emerged as one of the standout athletes of the Games, winning all three of his standing races — sprint, individual and sprint pursuit — including a narrow victory in the final event. With that feat, Cai Jiayun become only the second para biathlete in history to win all three of his starts at a single Paralympics.

China’s strength extended across classifications, with multiple victories in visually impaired and sitting events, underlining the depth of the team.

Ukraine’s Depth Across the Programme

While China led with a total of 8 out of 15 medals which was three more than in Beijing, Ukraine demonstrated consistent strength across all events, finishing with the highest overall medal count with 16 of which three were gold.

Taras Rad completed a full set of medals, while Oleksandr Kazik led a Ukrainian podium sweep in the visually impaired sprint. Across the programme, Ukrainian athletes regularly featured in medal contention, highlighting the team’s depth.

Historic Firsts and Expanding Competition

Para Biathlon at Milano Cortina 2026 truly combined elite performance with historic progress. Some significant milestones included Kazakhstan and Czechia each securing their first Paralympic biathlon gold medals, while a total of eight nations reached the podium among the 21 competing teams.

The introduction of the sprint pursuit format added a new competitive layer, producing open races, comebacks and closely contested finishes that became a defining feature of the programme.

Breakthrough performances from emerging athletes and nations reflected the continued expansion and competitiveness of the sport. The results at MilanoCortina2026 underline a shifting competitive landscape, with China demonstrating increasing depth and efficiency, Ukraine maintaining its collective strength, and new nations breaking into the top level.