Japan’s Muraoka bags 3rd gold in Beijing

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:40 JST, March 11, 2022

BEIJING — Alpine skier Momoka Muraoka bagged her third gold medal and her fourth medal overall in the Beijing Paralympics as she won the title in the sitting category of the women’s giant slalom on Friday.

The 25-year-old completed her first run in 1 minute 1.76 seconds, putting her in second place, but rose to the No. 1 spot after finishing her second run in 1 minute 0.51 seconds. With an overall time of 2 minutes 2.27 seconds, Muraoka secured her second Paralympic title in the event following the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

Muraoka won five medals in Pyeongchang, including one gold. This time, she already earned two gold medals in the sitting category of the women’s downhill and super-G, as well as one silver in the women’s super combined.

Including Friday’s win, Muraoka now holds four gold medals, rewriting the previous record of Japanese winter Paralympians.

Yoshiko Tanaka, 46, and Norika Harada, 39, fell on their first runs and did not finish the race.