TESERO /Italy/, March 11. /TASS/. Russian cross-country skier Ivan Golubkov won gold on Wednesday in men’s 10-km sitting event at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Italy.

The Russian athlete raced the distance in 24 minutes 5.8 seconds to win the gold. China’s Zhongwu Mao won the silver (+16.3 seconds) and his compatriot Peng Zheng took the bronze (+18.7 seconds).

The medal won by Golubkov is the third gold of the Russian national team at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games.

The 2026 Winter Paralympic Games are held in Italy on March 6-15. The Russian Paralympians were allowed to compete at the upcoming Winter Paralympics under the national flag and to the tune of the country’s anthem for the first time in the 12-year period due to previously imposed sanctions.

President of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) Pavel Rozhkov told TASS in February that six Russian Para athletes had received bipartite invitations to the 2026 Winter Paralympics.

The invitations were extended to three-time Paralympic Champion in alpine skiing Alexey Bugaev, two-time World Champion in alpine skiing Varvara Voronchikhina, multiple World Champion in para cross-country skiing Ivan Golubkov, World Championship medalist in para cross-country skiing Anastasia Bagiyan and her guide Sergey Sinyakin, and para snowboarders Dmitry Fadeyev and Philipp Shebbo Monzer.