Russia’s medal haul at the home Paralympics has reached a remarkable 16 golds and a total of 43 medals after the country’s athletes delivered five first-place finishes on the fifth day of action in Sochi.
Germany remains second in the medals table, with a total of five
medals, all golds. The Ukrainians are right behind them, with 3
golds and a total of 14 medals.
The day in Sochi started with yet another Russian gold as alpine
skier Aleksandra Frantceva triumphed in the woman’s slalom event
for visually impaired.
The home athlete beat silver medalist Jade Etherington of the UK
by 0.65 seconds, while the bronze at the Rosa Khutor Alpine
Center went to Slovakia’s Henrieta Farkasova.
It’s her third medal at the Sochi Paralympics for Frantceva as
the 26-year-old also took silver in Super-G and bronze in
downhill.
Germany’s Andrea Rothfuss has become the Paralympic champion in
women’s slalom.
Rothfuss was dominant in the event as nearly 7 seconds separated
her from the nearest rival, Inga Medvedeva of Russia.
Medvedeva won her silver in a tight battle with Petra Smarzova of
Slovakia, with just 0.21 seconds separating the athletes after
two runs.
The gold in women’s sitting slalom also went to Team Germany,
thanks to a solid display from Anna-Lena Forster.
Canada’s Kimberly Joines took silver 0.81 seconds behind, with
Laurie Stephens completing the podium in the event.
The Paralympic program continued with cross-country skiing, in
which six sets of medals were up for grabs on Wednesday.
Russia’s Roman Petushkov made Paralympic history by claiming his
third gold at the home games in Sochi.
The 36-year-old skier/biathlete was the fastest in the men’s 1
kilometer sprint in the sitting category, clocking a time of
2:29.4 seconds.
Petushkov also won the 15 kilometers cross country race as well
as 7.5 kilometers and 12.5 kilometers events in biathlon.
Another Russian, Grigory Murygin, crossed the finish line 1.2
seconds after the winner to bag silver, with Maksym Yarovyi of
Ukraine in third place.
But the Paralympic hosts achieved even greater success in the
men’s 1 kilometer free technique sprint in the standing category,
sweeping the podium for the third time in Sochi.
A dominant display in the preliminary rounds saw the Russians
bagging all six spots in the final race at the Laura Center.
Kirill Mikhaylov has snatched gold in the all-Russian battle,
with Rushan Minnegulov and Vladislav Lekomtcev taking the rest of
the podium spots.
Brian Mckeever has brought Canada gold in the men’s 1 kilometer
free technique sprint for visually impaired.
Mckeever clocked the time of 3:32.51 to beat silver medalist
Zebastian Modin of Sweden by 1.8 seconds, while Oleg Ponomarev
added to Russia’s medal haul by claiming bronze.
In women’s events, Mariann Marthinse snatched gold for the
Norwegian team, leaving all her rivals behind in the 1 kilometer
sprint finals in the sitting category.
It was a close battle till the finish line as second-placed
Tatyana McFadden trailed to Marthinse by just 0.1 seconds.
Russia also didn’t leave the event empty-handed, with Marta
Zaynullina racing to a bronze medal.
The gold in the women’s 1 kilometer free technique sprint in the
standing category went to Anna Milenina much to the delight of
the home fans.
It’s the third Sochi medal for the 27-year-old, who took silver
in 6 kilometer biathlon and bronze in 15 kilometer cross country
skiing.
The second place in the event went to Ukraine’s Iuliia Batenkova,
with another Russian, Alena Kaufman, completing the podium.
Russia’s 16th gold medal at the home Paralympics was won by
Mikhalina Lysova in the women’s 1 kilometer free technique sprint
for visually impaired.
Lysova was followed by compatriot Elena Remizova, who took
silver, with Oksana Shyshkova claiming bronze for Team Ukraine.
Russian wheelchair curlers, who already guaranteed themselves a
place in the playoffs, have collected wins against Great Britain
11-2 and Norway 6-5.
The home team tops the standing in the preliminary round with 7
victories, but nearest rivals from Canada are a win behind and
have a game in hand.