Winter Paralympics closes with memorable ceremonyImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, German dancer and performer Dergin Tokmak performs during the ceremonyByElizabeth HudsonBBC Sport journalistPublished25 minutes agoThe 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics came to an end with a spectacular and joyful ceremony at the Cortina Curling Centre.This year’s Games, which marked its 50th anniversary after the first edition in Sweden in 1974, featured a record 611 athletes from 55 nations in 79 medal events across six sports.The ceremony, entitled ‘Italian Souvenir’, celebrated the Games and the achievements of all the athletes with a mix of music, dance and lights.In his closing speech, International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons paid tribute to the Italian public and the organising committee for the legacy they have created.But he reserved special praise for the competitors.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The Great Britain flag is brought into the ceremony in Cortina by Para-skiers Neil Simpson and Rob Poth and wheelchair curler Jo Butterfield”You rose above pressure, expectation and global tension to keep the focus where it belongs: on you and your sport,” reported Parsons.”You expanded the imagination of the world. You have shown that excellence is universal and that determination knows no boundaries.”The Games have not only celebrated sport – they reminded us that when we focus on human potential, sport can unite and empower us in ways few other things can.”The Paralympic flag was also passed to the French Alps 2030 organising committee who will stage the next winter Games, before the flames in both Milan and Cortina were extinguished.There have been plenty of talking points throughout these Games and BBC Sport looks at some of the memorable moments.Controversial Russian return leads to medals – and a protestMilan-Cortina saw Russian athletes compete under their nation’s flag for the first time since 2014 after the International Paralympic Committee lifted its suspension of the country in September.The country and its athletes had been banned following the state-sponsored doping scandal, while further sanctions followed after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.But their participation in the Alpine and cross-country skiing events at the Games was not without controversy.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Skier Varvara Voronchikhina won Russia’s first gold of the GamesA number of nations – including Ukraine – boycotted the opening ceremony in Verona. A later incident came on the medal podium when German cross-country skier Linn Kazmaier and her guide Florian Baumann turned their backs in protest to Russia’s Anastasiia Bagiian and her guide Sergei Siniakin after the Russians won gold in their women’s sprint classic vision impaired event.The six-strong Russian team came away from the Games with 12 medals, including eight golds, for third place on the medal table.Masters masterful once againAlready a Paralympic legend, American Oksana Masters cemented her reputation in Italy with four golds and a bronze to bring her overall medal tally to 24.The 36-year-old, who is her country’s most decorated Winter Paralympian, triumphed across cross-country skiing and biathlon to win the most golds she has achieved at a single Paralympics – summer or winter.Masters was born with birth defects caused by radiation most likely from the Chernobyl disaster and spent years in an orphanage in Ukraine before being adopted by an American woman.She had her left leg amputated at age nine, and her right leg amputated at 14 but has become a sporting star with honours across Para-rowing, Para-cycling and winter sports.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Masters described her Games experience as ‘unreal’Her Milan-Cortina haul came after she spent three weeks before the Games dealing with infection and a concussion.Next up for Masters is a wedding to fellow Para-athlete Aaron Pike in Italy before a possible LA 2028 campaign.Why GB are ‘positive’ despite just one medal at Winter Paralympics
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