Brazilian skier Cristian Ribera opened the Paralympic snow sports season with two gold medals at the Continental Cup, in Beitostolen (Norway). Born in Cerejeiras (RO), Ribera won this Saturday (23) the distance race (5 kilometers), one day after winning gold in the sprint/speed test (800 meters) at the Beitostolen Ski Stadium. In March, the Rondônia native had already distinguished himself as champion of the 2024/2025 season. In the same month, he won gold in the sprint of the world circuit stage, in Trondheim (Norway).
This Saturday (22), Ribera crossed the finish line first in the 5 km race in the LW11 class (for athletes who compete sitting down and use poles), with a time of 11min41s1. In second place was the Italian Giuseppe Romele (12min10s2) and in third the Ukrainian Vasyl Kravchuk (12min42s5).
Double gold at the Norwegian Continental Cup! 🥇🥇
In the competition held in the city of Beitostølen, Cristian Ribera was the winner in the speed (800m) and distance (5km) cross-country skiing events. 🎿
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— Brazilian Paralympic Committee (@BraParalimpico) November 22, 2025
In the sprint race (800m), before taking gold in the final, Ribera had already set the best time in both the qualifier and the semi. Silver and bronze went to Ukrainian Kravchuk and Italian Romele, respectively.
Cristian Ribeira will only return to the world circuit at the Finstrerau (Germany) stage, between January 14th and 18th. Before the end of the current season, two competitions with Brazilian participation are planned: the continental stage in Canmore (Canada), next Wednesday (26) and Thursday (27), and the opening of the cross-country skiing World Cup, in December. Amarelinha will have athletes Aline Rocha, Wesley Santos and Altair Marangne as representatives.
