Yoonji Kim Wins Paralympic Biathlon Gold, Makes History as First Korean Female Champion (Comprehensive)

Yoonji Kim (19, BDH Paras), the 'superstar' of disabled sports, has become the first Korean female athlete to win a gold medal at the Winter Paralympics.

Yoonji Kim is rejoicing after winning the gold medal in the women's sprint sitting 12.5 km final of the parabiathlon at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics held at the Tesero Cross-Country Stadium in Italy on the 8th (local time). Tesero = Photo by Yonhap News

On March 8 (local time), at the Tesero Cross-Country Stadium in Italy, Yoonji Kim claimed the gold medal in the women's sprint sitting 12.5 km event of the biathlon at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Paralympics, finishing with a time of 38 minutes 00.1 seconds and defeating Anja Wicker of Germany.

With this achievement, Yoonji Kim set a milestone as the first Korean female athlete in Winter Paralympic history to win a gold medal in an individual event. This gold medal is the first for Korea in eight years since Shin Euihyun's victory in cross-country skiing at the 2018 PyeongChang Games, and it is also the first-ever gold medal for the Korean team at an overseas Winter Paralympics.

The individual 12.5 km biathlon event, which combines cross-country skiing and shooting, consists of four shooting sessions, with one minute added to the time for every missed target. Kim took the lead by hitting all five targets in her first shooting, but after missing two shots in the second round, she temporarily dropped to fifth place. She passed the 6.6 km halfway point in fourth place and began to catch up again. By hitting all five targets in the third round, Kim moved up to third place, and with a 'perfect' final round of shooting, she reclaimed the lead. Pushing herself all the way to the finish, Kim ultimately secured first place after the competitors' times were tallied.

When her gold medal victory was confirmed, Kim raised both arms high and savored the joy of becoming a Paralympic champion for the first time in her life. Competing in both biathlon and cross-country skiing at this Paralympics, Kim will go for more medals in the remaining events, starting with the cross-country race on March 10.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.