Ukraine surprises on the first day of competitions of the Beijing Winter Paralympics. Three gold medals brought home, three silver and one bronze. The country grappling with the conflict with Russia is therefore at the top of the medal table.
The successes all came in biathlon with 33-year-old Grygorii Vovchynskyi in 6 km standing and 6 km visual impairment with Oksana Shyshkova among women and Vitali Lukianenko among men ahead of two other Ukrainians, Oleksandr Kazik, silver, and Dmytro Suiarko, bronze.
For the president of the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee Valeriy Sushkevych, it is "a miracle that we are here to participate in the Games" and today's victories "are a sign that Ukraine was, is and will remain a country".
(Unioneonline / ss)