Milano Cortina 2026: Japan’s Muraoka Takes Silver in Women’s Para Alpine Super-G Sitting After Recovering From Multiple Injuries

By Keito Ehara / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

15:13 JST, March 10, 2026

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Alpine skier Momoka Muraoka, 29, took silver in women’s para alpine skiing Super-G sitting on Monday, the fourth day of the Milano Cortina Winter Paralympics, securing Japan’s first medal of the Games.

This brings Muraoka’s total medal count to 10, tying her with para alpine skier Kuniko Obinata as the most decorated Japanese athlete in Winter Paralympic history.

Triumph after injuries

It was Muraoka’s first race in a year, having just returned after injuries. She controlled her speed from the start of the race, cautiously choosing her path and executing each turn with precision. Finishing in 1 minute 24.14 seconds for provisional second place, she looked relieved after learning she had not been beat by subsequent racers.

“It’s scary enough to make me feel sick just looking at it,” Muraoka said about the Tofane Alpine Skiing Center, a site of past struggles. While practicing at the venue last April, she fell over and dislocated her right elbow, damaging ligaments and requiring hospitalization. After returning to training in November, she fell again at a different venue, fracturing her left collarbone. She was rushed to the hospital and underwent surgery for the first time.

Muraoka, who is from Fukaya, Saitama Prefecture, suffered lower body paralysis due to transverse myelitis at age 4. She began seriously competitive skiing during her second year of junior high school and made her Paralympic debut at the 2014 Sochi Games. Muraoka took five medals — the most by any Japanese athlete at a single Winter Games — at the 2018 Pyeongchang Paralympics. Then, she dominated the podium again in Beijing, winning four medals including three gold.

Muraoka’s injuries were the biggest crisis faced by such a star athlete.

“I didn’t want to talk to anyone,” she said. “I didn’t even want to think about skiing anymore.” With her left arm rendered useless, she struggled to even maneuver her wheelchair. She spent New Year’s Eve in a hospital bed, her spirits crushed.

What kept the ace going was her pride. “Showing up to race is how I repay those who supported me,” she thought and dedicated herself to treatment and rehabilitation. She returned in mid-February, just before the Games. She still was in pain, and her broken collarbone hadn’t fully fused. Doctors sternly warned her not to fall over.

Before the Games, Muraoka had told those around her that “winning a medal is my mission.”

After the race, she admitted that she was scared. “I’m still frustrated because I didn’t race to my full potential, but I feel relieved that I won a medal,” she added, finally smiling.