Beijing 2022, Day 1: Top stories, moments and records from the Paralympic Winter Games

12 gold medals awarded on first day of competition

The Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing kicked off with 12 medal events in Para alpine skiing and Para biathlon.

In the Para alpine skiing competition, athletes from six different nations won gold, with the first of the Games handed to Henrieta Farkasova who won the women's downhill vision impaired, a race in which Great Britain also reached the podium with Millie Knight taking bronze. Canadian athletes took two medals on the day, with Mollie Jepsen claiming gold in the women's downhill standing before Mac Marcoux won silver in the men's downhill vision impaired. And in the final event of the day, it was gold for New Zealand with Corey Peters claiming victory in the men's downhill sitting competition.

In the Para biathlon, sporting legend Oksana Masters of the USA took gold in the women's sprint sitting. Her triumph was followed by two wins from the host nation, with Liu Zixu triumphing in the men's sprint sitting before 17-year-old Guo Yujie made it double gold with victory in the women's sprint standing. In the final three competitions of the day, there was a trio of golds for Ukrainian athletes who won the men's sprint standing (Grygorii Vovchynskyi), women's sprint vision impaired (Oksana Shyshkova) and men's sprint vision impaired (Vitalii Lukianenko), with the latter event featuring a Ukrainian sweep of the podium.

Moment of the day

One of the most poignant moments of the day didn't even involve a medal, as Belgium's 57-year-old Para alpine skier Linda le Bon raced the vision impaired downhill event alongside her daughter, who acted as her guide after her original guide was unable to compete due to an administrative error.

Daughter Ulla had this to say after the race: “I've skied races before, but I've not skied with my Mum behind me, I'll say that's a bit exciting! And it's a great experience and I'm happy to be here.”

READ MORE: Linda le Bon guided by last minute replacement: her daughter

Athlete of the day

The legend of Oksana Masters just continues to grow, as the Ukrainian-born American added another gold medal to her collection that spans both winter and summer sports. Masters' gold in the Para biathlon women's sprint sitting will now sit next to the two golds she won in Para cross-country skiing at PyeongChang 2018, and the double gold won in Tokyo 2020's Para cycling competitions.

Simply masterful.

READ MORE: Oksana Masters claims USA's first gold of Paralympic Games

What to watch next

Tomorrow's action again takes place on the slopes, with six more medals awarded in Para alpine skiing, and the Para cross-country skiing competition kicking off with the men's and women's long distance sitting races.

All medals of the day

Women’s events

Para alpine skiing - Downhill vision impaired

• Gold: Henrieta Farkasova (Slovakia)
• Silver: Zhu Daqing (People's Republic of China)
• Bronze: Millie Knight (Great Britain)

Para alpine skiing - Downhill standing

• Gold: Mollie Jepsen (Canada)
• Silver: Zhang Mengqiu (People's Republic of China)
• Bronze: Ebba Aarsjoe (Sweden)

Para alpine skiing - Downhill sitting

• Gold: Muraoka Momoka (Japan)
• Silver: Anna-Lena Forster (Germany)
• Bronze: Liu Sitong (People's Republic of China)

Para biathlon - Sprint sitting

• Gold: Oksana Masters (USA)
• Silver: Shan Yilin (People's Republic of China)
• Bronze: Kendall Gretsch (USA)

Para biathlon - Sprint standing

• Gold: Guo Yukie (People's Republic of China)
• Silver: Liudmyla Liashenko (Ukraine)
• Bronze: Zhao Zhiqing (People's Republic of China)

Para biathlon - Sprint vision impaired

• Gold: Oksana Shyshkova (Ukraine)
• Silver: Linn Kazmaier (Germany)
• Bronze: Leonie Maria Walter (Germany)

Men’s events

Para alpine skiing - Downhill vision Impaired

• Gold: Johannes Aigner (Austria)
• Silver: Mac Marcoux (Canada)
• Bronze: Hyacinthe Deleplace (France)

Para alpine skiing - Downhill standing

• Gold: Arthur Bauchet (France)
• Silver: Markus Salcher (Austria)
• Bronze: Theo Gmuer (Switzerland)

Para alpine skiing - Downhill sitting

• Gold: Corey Peters (New Zealand)
• Silver: Jesper Pedersen (Norway)
• Bronze: Morii Taiki (Japan)

Para Biathlon - Sprint sitting

• Gold: Liu Zixu (People's Republic of China)
• Silver: Taras Rad (Ukraine)
• Bronze: Liu Mengtao (People's Republic of China)

Para biathlon - Sprint standing

• Gold: Grygorii Vovchynskyi (Ukraine)
• Silver: Marco Maier (Germany)
• Bronze: Mark Arendz (Canada)

Para biathlon - Sprint vision impaired

• Gold: Vitali Lukianenko (Ukraine)
• Silver: Oleksandr Kazik (Ukraine)
• Bronze: Dmytro Suiarko (Ukraine)