Beijing 2022, Day 8: Top stories, moments and records from the Paralympic Winter Games

The penultimate day of the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 was an action-packed affair with no less than 29 medals awarded in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ice hockey and wheelchair curling.

The Aigner show dominated the first final on the snow, with sisters Veronika and Barbara again sharing the podium claiming a 1-2 in the vision impaired slalom. Veronika raced to her second Para alpine skiing gold medal of Beijing 2022, guided by older sibling Elisabeth, with Barbara claiming the silver medal to make it a true family affair. The Aigner sisters also shared the podium the day before in the giant slalom where Barbara finished third behind the first-placed Veronika.

German ace Anna-Lena Forster won her second gold claiming the sitting title to wrap up her campaign with four medals, including a silver and bronze. She finished ahead of People's Republic of China duo Zhang Wenjing and Liu Sitong in second and third place, respectively.

Sweden's Ebba Aarsjoe was in fine fettle claiming the standing title – her second gold of the Games – beating China's Zhang Mengqiu into second place. Anna-Maria Rieder of Germany had to settle for the bronze medal.

China was the dominant force in the cross-country middle distance finals, winning three of the six gold medals on offer.

Local sensation Yang Hongqiong brought the curtain down on a brilliant maiden Paralympic Games, winning her third cross-country skiing gold medal on home snow with her victory in the middle distance race sitting category. She denied American Oksana Masters her first gold medal in the cross-country at these Games. Masters won her third cross-country silver, adding to the two golds and silver she won in the Para biathlon in Beijing. China's Ma Jing rounded out the podium in third place.

Mao Zhongwu led a Chinese 1-2 in the men's sitting category claiming a comfortable victory over compatriot Zheng Pen in second place. Italy's Giuseppe Romele bagged the bronze medal.

The day belonged to Canada's Brian McKeever, however, cementing an indelible record winning his third title in the visually impaired category in Beijing to claim a 16th career gold medal. McKeever is now the joint most decorated male Winter Paralympian equalling German Gerd Schoenfelder's record.

Meanwhile, China kept their unbeaten run on home ice intact to claim back-to-back wheelchair curling titles. The Chinese were in dominant form beating Sweden 8-3 in the final.

Para ice hockey debutants China brought their campaign to a dream end, clinching the bronze medal with a 4-0 shutout victory over the Republic of Korea. Star forward Yi Feng Shen again played a significant role in his team's success with a brace of goals extending his tally in Beijing 2022 to eight. 

Moment of the day

Every dog gets its day, but one special dog gets a Paralympic medal. Austria's Carina Edlinger and her guide dog, Riley, have captured the imagination with the special bond they share.

Edlinger heaped praise on her furry companion for the role he played in her winning a maiden Paralympic gold medal in the women's visually impaired cross-country sprint race.

Two days before her crowning achievement, Edlinger could not move her body due to paralysis from the neck down.

"For me, the most important thing coming to China was to bring my dog. If my dog would not have been able to enter China, I would directly fly home," Edlinger said.

"Even when you have a bad day, your dog still comes to you and wants to have a cuddle. So he is more than gold.

"He helped me - not only to find my ways but also emotionally over the past couple of days.

"Today, winning gold like this is freaking amazing."

On Saturday, she added the bronze medal in the middle-distance event. In the moment of the day, Riley was presented with his own Paralympic medal for his contribution to the Games and for being a good boy.

Athlete of the day

Canadian cross-country skier Brian McKeever bowed out of his last Paralympics in style, winning a record 16th gold medal to equal the men's all-time record.

McKeever drew level with German para-alpine skiing great Gerd Schoenfelder to etch his name into the history books.

The 42-year-old McKeever was already considered the GOAT – the most successful ever cross-country skier – even before he upped the ante in Beijing 2022.

His victory in the middle-distance event also marked his 20th podium finish since he made his debut in Salt Lake City 2002.

McKeever will have a final hurrah in the team relay on Sunday, where he can surpass Schoenfelder as the most decorated male Winter Paralympian.

"We're just happy to be here," McKeever said after the race. "After 20 years of doing this, it's an honour to be a part of the Paralympics.

"So we'll go out and enjoy it and still make ourselves heard, keep on going and enjoying this beautiful weather we've had and looking forward to finishing on a fun day."

What to watch next

The Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 will come to a climactic end with six medal events in Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and ice hockey.

The men’s slalom will bring the curtain down on the Alpine skiing, while the last two sets of medals will be up for grabs in the mixed relay 4x2.5km and the open relay 4x2.5km. McKeever will be in action in the open relay, where he will be targeting a record 17th gold medal at the Paralympics.

The Para ice hockey tournament will bring the Games to a fitting close with a mouth-watering clash between powerhouses Canada and the United States in a repeat of the PyeongChang 2018 final. Defending champions United States is unbeaten in the Beijing tournament while Canada suffered one defeat against their northern neighbours during the round-robin stages.

All medals of the day

Women’s events

Para Cross-country skiing - Middle distance sitting

• Gold: Yang Hongqiong (CHN)
• Silver: Oksana Masters (USA)
• Bronze: Ma Jing (CHN)

Para Cross-country skiing - Middle distance free technique standing

• Gold: Oleksandra Kononova (UKR)
• Silver: Natalie Wilkie (CAN)
• Bronze: Iryna Bui (UKR)

Para Cross-country skiing - Middle distance free technique vision impaired

• Gold: Linn Kazmaier (GER)
• Silver: Wang Yue (CHN)
• Bronze: Carina Edlinger (AUT)

Para Alpine skiing - Slalom vision impaired

• Gold: Veronika Aigner (AUT)
• Silver: Barbara Aigner (AUT)
• Bronze: Alexandra Rexova (SVK)

Para Alpine skiing - Slalom standing

• Gold: Ebba Aarsjoe (SWE)
• Silver: Zhang Mengqiu (CHN)
• Bronze: Anna-Maria Rieder (GER)

Para Alpine skiing - Slalom sitting

• Gold: Anna-Lena Forster (GER)
• Silver: Zhang Wenjing (CHN)
• Bronze: Liu Sitong (CHN)

Men's events

Para Cross-country skiing - Middle distance sitting

• Gold: Mao Zhongwu (CHN)
• Silver: Zheng Peng (CHN)
• Bronze: Giuseppe Romele (ITA)

Para Cross-country skiing - Middle distance free technique standing

• Gold: Wang Chenyang (CHN)
• Silver: Benjamin Daviet (FRA)
• Bronze: Cai Jiayun (CHN)

Para Cross-country skiing - Middle distance free technique vision impaired

• Gold: Brian Mckeever (CAN)
• Silver: Zebastian Modin (SWE)
• Bronze: Dmytro Suiarko (UKR)

Para Ice hockey - Bronze medal game

• Bronze: People's Republic of China

Wheelchair curling

• Gold: People's Republic of China
• Silver: Sweden