US atop tally with five medals

Pyeongchang: The United States on Saturday got-off to a good start on the opening day of the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, topping the medals tally with three gold, one silver and one bronze medals. France and the Neutral Paralympic Athletes (NPA) tied for second place with two gold and one silver medals apiece.

Ukraine, Canada, Germany, Slovakia, and Switzerland each won a gold on the first day to join the three winter sports powerhouses atop the medal table. All of Saturday's medals came from skiing -- alpine skiing and biathlon -- on which six gold medals were up for grabs respectively.

The U.S. duo of Daniel Cnossen and Kendall Gretsch, claimed gold in the sitting event. Gretsch finished first in the women's sit ski. Oksana Masters of the United States won silver, beating Lidzia Hrafeyeva of Belarus who took the bronze.

Cnossen came first in the men's sit ski. The silver went to Dzmitry Loban, the husband and coach of Hrafeyeva, making it a double success for Belarus and the family. Collin Cameron of Canada took bronze, which was also unpredicted.

France won a gold medal in the men's 7.5km standing, while Ukraine dominated the vision impaired biathlon event with a gold and a bronze in the men's 7.5km. All the six gold medal winners in the alpine skiing event came from different countries. Slovakia's Henrieta Farkasova won the first gold medal of the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics in the women's vision impaired downhill event.

France took gold in the women's standing downhill skiing. The silver and the bronze went to Germany and Canada each. German skier Anna Schaffelhuber, who had won five gold medals in Sochi four years ago, took a good start, winning a gold in the women's sitting downhill skiing.

Canada's first gold of the PyeongChang Paralympics was won by Mac Marcoux, guided by Jack Leitch in the men's vision impaired downhill skiing. Switzerland's Theo Gmur took his first Paralympic gold in the men's standing skiing, and US skier Andrew Kurka, the reigning downhill world champion, won  the men sitting category.