Andrei-Sorin Popa finished in 22nd place in the vertical slalom event at the Paralympic Games
Article by Roxana Fleşeru – Published on Sunday, 15 March 2026, 17:33 / Updated on Sunday, 15 March 2026 17:39
Andrei-Sorin Popa (36 years old) competed on the last day of the Paralympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina and ranked 22nd in alpine paraskiing, in the vertical slalom event.
Andrei-Sorin Popa ended Romania's participation in the Milan-Cortina Paralympic Winter Games with a 22nd place in the standing slalom event, class LW9-2, intended for athletes with disabilities on one side of the body or one arm and one leg.
On the last day of the Paralympic Winter Games, it snowed in Cortina, and the alpine paraski events had delayed starts. On the Olympia delle Tofane slope, Andrei-Sorin Popa placed 25th out of 34 athletes in the first leg of the vertical slalom. In the second leg, he managed to move up, finishing the race in 22nd place.
The paraskier from Romania was participating in the Paralympic Games for the first time, for which he did not have time to prepare much, as he will really enter the Paralympic sport in 2025. But he made up his mind that in four years, things would be different.
Andrei-Sorin Popa: “I pulled hard to hold my child”
Andrei-Sorin Popa was born in Bușteni, and since 2004 he has been a ski instructor. His life took a different turn after he suffered a stroke on July 8, 2020. “My right hand is paralyzed and I have deficiencies in my right leg. It's a neurological problem. My right side is numb. I was paralyzed in bed, I didn't speak for three months. I did recovery three times a day for three to four months. My wife was seven months pregnant. I pulled hard to hold my baby! I also had impaired vision.” told Andrei-Sorin Popa for the Banatian Renaissance.
Romania had two participants in this edition of the Paralympic Winter Games. In addition to Andrei-Sorin Popa (alpine paraski), Mihăița Papără (46 years old) also performed parasnowboard. He had to drop out before the start of the final eight in the cross event and then withdrew from the banked slalom due to health problems, the Romanian ending up in the hospital bed.
Milano-Cortina 2026 marked Romania's fifth participation in the Paralympic Winter Games, which debuted in 1976, after the 2010 (Vancouver), 2014 (Soci), 2018 (PyeongChang) and 2022 (Beijing) editions. Beyond continuity, the 2026 edition also brought the diversification of Romania's representation in winter Paralympic sports, being for the first time represented in two disciplines.
The closing ceremony will take place on Sunday, from 21:30, at Cortina. Before the Canada-USA para hockey final, the medal standings are held by China with 44 medals (15-13-14), the United States with 29 medals (12-5-6) and Russia with 12 medals (8-1-3).
