Milano Cortina 2026: Paralympic Games End After 10 Days of Competition; Japan Finishes Without Gold Medal For 1st Time Since 2002

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:12 JST, March 16, 2026

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — The Milano Cortina Paralympics ended Sunday, holding its closing ceremony at the stadium that hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics.

Lasting 10 days in total, this year’s Paralympics were held across three major venues. The next Games in 2030 will take place in the French Alps.

The Japanese team won four medals — three silver and one bronze. This fell short of the seven medals won at the previous Beijing Games and marked the first time since Salt Lake City in 2002 that the team ended without a gold medal.

On the final day, alpine skier Takeshi Suzuki took bronze in men’s slalom sitting, bringing Japan’s total number of Winter Paralympic medals to 101.

Many members of the Japanese team hurried to the stands at the closing ceremony at the stadium, which also hosted wheelchair curling during this year’s Games. Flag bearers Junta Kosuda of men’s snowboarding and Aki Ogawa of mixed doubles wheelchair curling participated with smiles.

Athletes from Russia, which continues its aggression against Ukraine, and its ally Belarus also represented their countries in this Games. Ukrainian athletes boycotted both the closing and opening ceremonies in protest.

First medal in 12 years

Alpine skier Suzuki, 37, returned to the podium for the first time in 12 years since winning a gold medal in the same event at the 2014 Sochi Games. It was his fourth career medal overall.

Suzuki was in third after his first run, then posted the fastest time with an aggressive run in the second, finishing third on combined times.

A native of Inawashiro, Fukushima Prefecture, Suzuki lost both legs in a traffic accident when he was in the second grade of elementary school. He began chair skiing during his elementary school years and has competed in six consecutive Paralympic Games, beginning with Turin in 2006.

Suzuki won a bronze medal in giant slalom sitting at the 2010 Vancouver Games, and at the 2014 Sochi Games, he took gold in the slalom sitting and bronze in the downhill sitting. In Milano Cortina, he placed in the top eight in all four events except the slalom.