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[By Shin Seo-young, Sports Today] The 2026 Milan–Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Paralympics ended on a high note.
The Games wrapped up a 10-day run on the 16th (Korean time) with a closing ceremony at Cortina’s Olympic Curling Stadium in Italy.
The event featured 611 athletes from 55 countries. South Korea finished 13th overall, collecting two golds, four silvers and one bronze.
That result surpassed South Korea’s showing at the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympics (one gold, two bronzes) and stands as the country’s best Winter Paralympic performance to date.
Kim Yun-ji was the standout. She won five of South Korea’s seven medals—two golds and three silvers—emerging as the team’s breakout star.
Kim became the first Korean woman to win a Winter Paralympic gold and the first Korean athlete to claim two titles at a single Games. She also set a new record for the most medals by a Korean athlete at a single Olympic or Paralympic Games, across both summer and winter events.
In wheelchair curling mixed doubles, Baek Hye-jin and Lee Yong-seok captured silver — Korea’s first in the event in 16 years — and Lee Jae-hyeok secured South Korea’s first Paralympic podium finish in snowboarding.
The closing ceremony, themed \”Italian Souvenir,\” unfolded like a fairy tale. A film used a young girl’s dream to highlight sport’s value, followed by a performance from a former Cirque du Soleil artist and a stirring national set by Italian singer Arisa.
Unlike the relatively subdued opening ceremony, which some countries scaled back amid concerns over Russia’s participation, the closing ceremony saw athletes from most delegations gather for a celebratory finale.
South Korea entered with snowboarder Lee Jae-hyeok and wheelchair curling mixed doubles athlete Baek Hye-jin carrying the Taegukgi.
Near the end of the ceremony, the Agitos flag that had flown for 10 days was lowered and handed to representatives from the French Alps, the next host region.
Officials then extinguished the two cauldrons that had burned over Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo during the Games, and Italian act Planet Funk closed the night with a dazzling finale.
[Sports Today Reporter Shin Seo-young sports@stoo.com]
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