As Sweden’s Ebba Årsjö crossed the finish line of the women’s standing giant slalom to win her third gold at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, a familiar face looked back at her from the stands.

A young Ebba, about 10 years of age, smiling on a poster.

Her sister had made the poster, and the now-five-time Paralympic champion Årsjö felt emotional at how far she’s come – and how much pride that younger version of herself would have felt at her accomplishment.

“I remember feeling like I was able, just like everyone else,” Årsjö said of those earlier times. “I had so much energy, I was so happy all the time, everyone said, and I love that mentality and now when I’m older, I try to still be that girl, and I feel like I am.”

At Beijing 2022, this was the only race that Årsjö did not finish. The sting of the DNF lingered with her for four years, next to the hunger to capture the medal that got away. She accomplished that on the Olympia delle Tofane course on Thursday (12 March), winning both runs in the giant slalom.

“The little Ebba, she loved giant slalom,” Årsjö said. “It’s always been my main discipline, so crashing four years ago was heartbreaking, and now I can have revenge.”

The giant slalom gold was Årsjö’s fourth medal in four races. Three of these medals are gold, with a bronze in super-G the only dent in her golden record.

Four days later, the memory of the super-G still fires up the Para Alpine skier who does not want to experience that feeling again, even if it means pushing through the pain of a fatigued body and tired mind.

“This was a hard one,” Årsjö said of the giant slalom. “The second run, I was so, so, so tired, but you know the bronze is… Ah! I still want to do that again.“

Varvara Voronchikhina has also experienced a roller-coaster of emotions since the competition started on Saturday. From Monday’s super-G gold to Tuesday’s crash in the super-G leg of the alpine combined, the Russian Para Alpine skier was relieved to be back on the podium, with silver, 2.84 seconds behind Årsjö.

France’s Aurelie Richard completed the podium, finishing 4.62 seconds behind Årsjö’s time to add a bronze to her three earlier silvers.

More to follow…