Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy – Anna-Lena Forster added to Germany’s medal haul at the Milan Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, securing a silver medal in the Women’s Downhill Sitting competition on Tuesday. The German flagbearer finished just behind Spain’s Audrey Pascual Seco in a thrilling race down the slopes.
Forster, who previously claimed gold in the downhill event, completed the super-combined course with a time of 1:26:25, 0.46 seconds behind Pascual Seco. China’s Liu Sitong rounded out the podium, taking bronze with a time of 1:29:56, according to results reported by Olympics.com. This marks Forster’s second medal of the Games and brings her career total to eleven Paralympic medals across Winter Games competitions.
The race unfolded in challenging conditions, with Forster trailing Pascual Seco by 2.82 seconds after the Super-G portion. However, the 30-year-old from Radolfzell demonstrated her renowned slalom skills, closing the gap in the second run, but ultimately falling just short of gold.
The Milan Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games continue to showcase remarkable athleticism and determination. Elsewhere in Tesero, Germany also secured medals in cross-country skiing, though a potential protest is pending regarding one result.
Sebastian Marburger claimed silver in the standing class cross-country sprint, marking his first Paralympic medal. He finished 2.7 seconds behind Raman Swirydsenka of Belarus, with Benjamin Daviet of France taking bronze. Marburger, who had been battling an upper respiratory infection in the days leading up to the race, expressed his joy, stating, “I’m just mega happy. I didn’t think it would go so well. It was really on the limit. That’s why I’m thinking about whether it makes sense to start tomorrow. I first need to see how the race has affected me,” as reported by Süddeutsche Zeitung. He was referring to the ten-kilometer race scheduled for Wednesday.
In the visually impaired cross-country sprint, Leonie Walter and Linn Kazmaier initially finished second and third, respectively. However, Walter and her guide Christian Krasman were later disqualified due to a technical rule violation, dropping them to fourth place. This promoted Kazmaier, with guide Florian Baumann, to silver, just 0.6 seconds behind the new leader.
Kathrin Marchand narrowly missed out on a medal in her Winter Games debut, finishing fourth in the classic sprint. The 35-year-old, a former rower with two Olympic and one Summer Paralympic appearances, was just 1.9 seconds behind Norway’s Vilde Nilsen. Marchand suffered a stroke five years ago and transitioned to Paralympic sport afterward.
The Milan Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games continue through March 16th. The next event for the German team includes further cross-country skiing competitions and alpine skiing events. Fans can locate the full schedule and results on the official Olympics website: https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/paralympic-games.
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