Beijing 2022, Day 5: Top stories, moments and records from the Paralympic Winter Games
Cross-country skiing took centre stage with Brian McKeever claiming his 15th gold medal while two podium repeats gave the day's action a sense of deja vu. Take a look at the most memorable moments of Day 5 at the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
Paralympic Games
Podiums on repeat
Cross-country sprint skiing took centre stage on the fifth day of the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, where six-medal events were contested.
The People's Republic of China made a stunning start to the finals dominating both the men's and women's sitting events.
The men's podium was a repeat of the long-distance sitting event on Sunday (6 March), with Zheng Peng spearheading another China 1-2 sweep. He shared the podium with compatriot Mao Zhongwu in second place with Canada's Collin Cameron bagging bronze.
The women's sprint event was also a carbon copy result of the long-distance event, with Yang Hongqiong racing to her second gold of the Games. She staved off a challenge from U.S. star Oksana Masters to earn the top step ahead of Li Panpan who rounded out the podium in third place.
In the men's standing competition, Benjamin Daviet of France won his first individual cross-country gold medal leading from the front for the win. Germany's Marco Maier pipped silver with Grygorii Vovchynskyi of Ukraine just 0.5 seconds behind for the bronze.
Canadian ace Natalie Wilkie claimed the golden double, adding the sprint free standing title to her long distance crown she won on Monday. Wilkie overcame a slow start to reel in the leading women and beat reigning Norwegian world champion Vilde Nilsen in the final stretch in a dramatic sprint for the line, with Sydney Peterson of the United States finishing third.
Austrian sensation Carina Edlinger finally got her hands on the gold medal in the women's visually impaired sprint race producing a dominant second half.
She claimed a comfortable victory in a time of 3:49.6, finishing ahead of Ukraine's Oksana Shyshkova (3:56.4) in second place, with Germany's Linn Kazmaier finishing third with 4:05.2.
Multiple world champion clinches first Paralympic gold
Four-time world champion Carina Edlinger overcame debilitating health issues in the build-up to her maiden Paralympic gold medal, which nearly derailed her campaign altogether.
Four years ago, Edlinger went into PyeongChang as one of the gold-medal favourites but had to settle for bronze medals in the middle-distance event.
"I still can't believe that. Four years ago, I had similar problems that I've had now, with my legs, and I collapsed multiple times here and right before the journey here," Edlinger said after the race.
"It was a difficult situation because a few days ago, I was completely paralysed below the neck, lying on the wax cabin floor. That was one of the lowest points I've had in my sports life."
Edlinger's perseverance finally paid off, surging to victory in the sprint event adding to the bronze four years ago.
"With two times not finishing, that was more than frustrating because I knew what I can do. But today, winning gold like this is freaking amazing," she said.
Athlete of the day
Para cross-country GOAT Brian McKeever timed his race to perfection to win his fourth consecutive men's visually impaired sprint cross-country gold medal.
McKeever and guide Russ Kennedy overtook American Jake Adicoff in the final stretch to claim victory by just 0.8 seconds. Zebastian Modin of Sweden finished in third place.
"We knew we had to get to the front before the last finishing straight so we could pick the line we wanted. There's definitely one faster lane there than the rest because of the shadows," said the Canadian with the trademark mutton chops.
"I'm not able to start very fast at my age, so I really have to build into it. We talked about that and tried to build through the whole race."
McKeever raced to an incredible 15th Paralympic gold, just one short of the all-time record held by German Para Alpine skier Gerd Schoenfelder.
"I've never thought about any of them (gold medals), so I will continue to not think about them and just keep going one race at a time and trying to enjoy this," McKeever said.
What to watch next
All attention will be on the slopes where Alpine skiing medals will be awarded in three giant slalom events in the Yanqing zone on Thursday.
Norway’s Jesper Pedersen is on the hunt for a second consecutive Paralympic title in the sitting event and could win his fourth medal of Beijing 2022 after clinching golds in the Super-G and super combined and silver in the downhill.
Italy’s Giacomo Bertagnolli will be eager to add more accolades to the gold and silver he already has in the bag in the visually impaired category.
In the standing event, Frenchman Arthur Bauchet will be setting his target on a golden treble following victories in the downhill and super combined.
All medals of the day
Women’s events
Para Cross-country skiing - Sprint sitting
- Gold: Yang Hongqiong (CHN)
- Silver: Oksana Masters (USA)
- Bronze: Li Panpan (CHN)
Para Cross-country skiing - Sprint free technique standing
- Gold: Natalie Wilkie (CAN)
- Silver: Vilde Nilsen (NOR)
- Bronze: Sydney Peterson (USA)
Para Cross-country skiing - Sprint free technique vision impaired
- Gold: Carina Edlinger (AUT)
- Silver: Oksana Shyshkova (UKR)
- Bronze: Linn Kazmaier (GER)
Men’s events
Para Cross-country skiing - Sprint sitting
- Gold: Zheng Peng (CHN)
- Silver: Mao Zhongwu (CHN)
- Bronze: Collin Cameron (CAN)
Para Cross-country skiing - Sprint free technique standing
- Gold: Benjamin Daviet (FRA)
- Silver: Marco Maier (GER)
- Bronze: Grygorii Vovchynskyi (UKR)
Para Cross-country skiing - Sprint free technique vision impaired
- Gold: Brian McKeever (CAN)
- Silver: Jake Adicoff (USA)
- Bronze: Zebastian Modin (SWE)