Russia win their first gold medal of Paralympics

Para-alpine skier Varvara Voronchikhina won the first Paralympic gold medal for Russia since 2014 with victory in the women's standing super G.

It comes two days after the 23-year-old won standing downhill bronze on Saturday to claim her nation's first medal of the Games.

These Games mark the first appearance of the Russian flag at a Paralympics since staging the event in Sochi 12 years ago. Russia and its athletes had been banned following the state-sponsored doping scandal before further sanctions followed after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Voronchikhina and her team-mates only returned to international competition in January after Russia won an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) against FIS, the international governing body for skiing and snowboarding.

FIS had initially refused to lift its ban on athletes from Russia and Belarus, despite the International Paralympic Committee ending its own suspension of the two nations in September.

That ban had been in place since the invasion of Ukraine on the eve of the Winter Paralympics four years ago, although it was softened the following year to allow athletes to compete as neutrals.

Voronchikhina crossed the finish line in a time of one minute 15.6 seconds on the iconic Olimpia delle Tofane piste, almost two seconds quicker than French silver medallist Aurelie Richard. Sweden's Ebba Aarsjoe took bronze.

Voronchikhina said: "It's really special for me because I can see my flag on my friends.

"Maybe now I can't believe it. Maybe a little bit later (when I) see my gold medal."

At her victory ceremony, an eerie silence fell over the crowd as Voronchikhina was announced on to the podium as Paralympic champion.

She was emotional as the Russian national anthem was played.

While she is competing at her first Paralympic Games, Voronchikhina is a two-time world champion - including in the super G - from 2021, and has further chances of medals at these Games.