Milano Cortina 2026: Best Para biathlon moments
Oksana Masters wins 10th career gold on Day 1 Korea’s Yunji Kim became an instant one to watch Canada’s Wilkie goes from 15th in Beijing to multi-medallist 19 Mar 2026
The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games featured unforgettable moments, groundbreaking achievements, and emotional highs, all taking place at stunning venues.
In Para biathlon, athletes competed in 18 medal events at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium. China topped the Para biathlon medals table with 15 medals (eight gold, five silver and two bronze medals), followed by Ukraine with three gold, six silver and seven bronze medals.
Here are three moments from Para biathlon that made the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics even more magical.
Top moment: Oksana Masters wins 10th career gold on Day 1
Despite telling reporters she didn’t have high expectations for Milano Cortina 2026 coming off of a bout of injury and illness, USA’s Oksana Masters started her competition strong with a career-defining 10th gold medal win.
"Oh my gosh, my emotions are just pure shock. I did not expect this. All I was hoping was just to have a good time in the shooting range. I did not expect a podium finish to be honest, let alone a gold,” she said.
Masters, who is the USA’s most decorated Winter Paralympian of all time, came to Milano Cortina after a difficult period and was just focused on competing. Coming back from a surgery in the summer, a recent infection and a concussion, Masters admitted her pre-Games training schedule was impacted.
“I've been battling a lot of health stuff and not knowing what kind of athlete I would have been to line up on the start line. I did not expect this at all, but I think it’s because of my incredible team,” she told the IPC.
The win on day one of the Para biathlon competition gave her a total of 20 Paralympic medals, across summer and winter sports.
“It was a shocker (that it’s 20 medals) it just feels so surreal. Every single medal is just as important because it has a different journey and path to getting it and achieving it. It means something special, this one,” Masters said.
In the men's sprint pursuit sitting event, Yerbol Khamitov won Kazakhstan's first gold medal since PyeongChang 2018, and second overall. He finished ahead of Ukraine's Taras Rad and China's Zixu Liu.
Jiayun Cai won three golds in the men's standing category and Yue Wang earned two golds and a silver in the women's vision impaired category to help China finish at the top of the Para biathlon medals table.
Read more about Oksana Master's 10th Paralympic gold medal and Jiayun Cai's medal haul at Milano Cortina 2026
Rising star: Korea’s Yunji Kim became an instant one to watch
Teenager Yunji Kim wowed the stadium, as she won Republic of Korea’s first women’s individual Paralympic Winter Games medal in the women’s sitting individual event.
“It’s my first Paralympics, my second race and my first Paralympic medal. And gold medal," Kim said. "I can’t believe it. I think I’m in a dream. I’m so thankful to get a gold medal.
The 19-year-old's feat was even more remarkable as it was a particularly strong line-up and tightly contested race. Despite two shooting penalties in the second bout, Kim showed her speed by finishing the race in 38:00.01, 12.8 seconds ahead of veteran German biathlete Anja Wicker. Kendall Gretsch of the USA took bronze.
Four-time Paralympian Wicker was impressed by the young talent, saying: “She can get even stronger. The jump from last year to this year from her was incredible. She’s super strong. The first time I saw her I was like, ‘Wow, she’s super strong.’
Read more about Yunji Kim's Paralympic debut and how female athletes are supporting each other on and off the field of play
Biggest surprise: Canada’s Wilkie goes from 15th in Beijing to multi-medallist at Milano Cortina
Natalie Wilkie of Team Canada finished the Para biathlon competition with two golds and one silver in the standing events, marking an exceptional turn around from her Para biathlon standing at Beijing 2022.
After debuting at PyeongChang at just 17, Wilkie built her career with multi medal wins in Para cross-country at the past two Paralympic Games. However, the last four years she focused on her shooting and it paid off with her Para biathlon wins.
“My big goal for these Games was to win a biathlon medal,” she said after winning her first two medals, “I was saying to somebody yesterday that I could leave now and I'd be happy with what I've already accomplished."
On top of her exceptional medal standing, Wilkie delighted crowds with her face glitter and joyous celebrations lighting up Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium. Her glitter seemingly foretold her medal wins, with the colour change drawing attention.
“I started the Games with silver (glitter), not expecting a certain result. And then I ended up winning the silver medal. So, it became a thing. The next day, I wore gold because... I wonder if I would win the gold medal. And I did.”
For her final Para biathlon race, the standing sprint pursuit, she prepared accordingly. “Of course I’ve got the gold glitter, I was manifesting.” And of course, she won gold.
Read more about Natalie Wilkie's impressive campaign at Milano Cortina 2026
