The 2026 Winter Paralympics came to an end with a glitzy closing ceremony in Cortina as China topped the medal table of a Games that saw several countries protest the decision to allow Russian athletes to compete under their national flag for the first time since 2014.
Amid a global backdrop of war in the Middle East and Russia’s ongoing offensive in Ukraine, International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons told the Games’ Paralympians that they “rose above pressure, expectation and global tension to keep the focus where it belongs: on you and your sport.”
The IPC’s decision to allow Russia to return to the Paralympic fold after 12 years away dominated much of the headlines leading up to and during the Games, with the country finishing third in the medals table with eight golds, one silver and three bronzes.
Parsons hailed the Games as a “record-breaking success,” saying they featured “more athletes, more nations, more women” than any previous edition.
Italy enjoyed its best-ever Paralympic Winter Games, winning 16 medals on home snow and finishing fourth in the table.
The opening ceremony was boycotted by several countries following the move to allow Russia and Belarus to take part in the Games under their national flags rather than as neutral competitors.
Ukraine, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland were again absent at the closing ceremony with a volunteer carrying their national flag.
As the ceremony drew to its climax, the Paralympic flag was lowered and a new one was handed by Parsons to representatives of French Alps 2030 – the hosts of the next Winter Games.
Sofia Tansella, an Italian girl with spinal muscular atrophy, brought the Games to an end by extinguishing the two Paralympic cauldrons in Milan and Cortina.
China topped the table with 44 medals in total, including 15 golds. The United States came in second with a total of 24 medals.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
