Yerbol Khamitov wins gold at 2026 Paralympic Games in Italy

Yerbol Khamitov, a Kazakhstani Paralympic cross-country skier and biathlete, won gold in the men’s 4.5-kilometer biathlon pursuit at the 2026 Paralympic Games in Italy.

Khamitov completed the race in 9:39.0, with one miss at the second shooting stage. Taras Rad of Ukraine took the silver medal, finishing 21.5 seconds behind the Kazakh athlete, while China’s Liu Zixu claimed bronze (+32.5 seconds).

Two other Kazakhstani biathletes — Yuriy Berezin and Sergey Usoltsev — finished the race in 19th place (two misses, +3:30.4) and 23rd place (five misses, +4:43.9), respectively.

Earlier, on March 10, Khamitov won Kazakhstan’s first medal of the Games, taking bronze in the cross-country skiing sprint.

Context

The XIV Winter Paralympic Games opened in Verona on Feb. 6, with 665 athletes competing for 79 medals across six sports: cross-country skiing, biathlon, alpine skiing, curling, snowboarding and sledge hockey.

The Games run through March 15. Kazakhstan is represented by seven Paralympians competing in cross-country skiing and biathlon.