Kim Yun-ji becomes 1st Korean female to win Winter Paralympic gold
Published: 09 Mar. 2026, 08:49
![Kim Yun-ji of Korea celebrates after winning the gold medal in the women's para biathlon individual sitting event at the Winter Paralympics at Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Tesero, northern Italy, on March 8. [JOINT RPESS CORPS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/09/3628269b-2245-4757-86ee-992789f8433c.jpg)
Kim Yun-ji of Korea celebrates after winning the gold medal in the women's para biathlon individual sitting event at the Winter Paralympics at Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Tesero, northern Italy, on March 8. [JOINT RPESS CORPS]
Kim Yun-ji became the first Korean woman to win a Winter Paralympic gold medal Sunday.
Kim won the women's individual sitting title in para biathlon of the 2026 Winter Olympics at Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Tesero, northern Italy, on Sunday.
She finished her competition in 38:00.01, 12.8 seconds ahead of Anja Wicker of Germany. Kendall Gretsch of the United States took the bronze in 38:47.9.
This was Korea's first Winter Paralympics gold medal since 2018 and also the country's first at an away Winter Paralympics.
The para biathlon event combines cross-country skiing and shooting over 12.5 kilometers (7.8 miles). Athletes each had four shooting sessions, taking five shots in each, and each miss added a minute to their time.
Kim went a perfect 5-for-5 in her first shooting stop. She missed her target twice in the next stop to fall to fifth place, but then hit her next 10 shots across the final two shooting sessions.
Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)