Ottawa – Many of Canada’s biggest stars at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games appear on track to make their mark once again at Milano Cortina 2026, opening one year from today.
Those big names include Mark Arendz (Hartsville, PEI) and Natalie Wilkie (Salmon Arm, B.C.) in Para nordic skiing; Alexis Guimond (Gatineau, Que.) in Para alpine skiing; Tyler McGregor (Forest, Ont.) and Liam Hickey (St. John’s N.L.) in Para ice hockey; Tyler Turner (Campbell River, B.C.) in Para snowboard; and Jon Thurston (Dunsford, Ont.), Mark Ideson (London, Ont.) and Ina Forrest (Spallumcheen, B.C.) in wheelchair curling.
There’s also a cast of new stars emerging, including Derek Zaplotinsky (Smoky Lake, Alta.) in Para nordic skiing; Michaela Gosselin (Collingwood, Ont.) and the Kalle Ericsson (Kimberley, B.C.)/Sierra Smith (Ottawa) tandem in Para alpine skiing; and Gil Dash (Wolseley, Sask.) in wheelchair curling and Vincent Boily (Alma, Que.) in Para ice hockey.
Canada won 25 medals at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games in Beiing (8 gold – 6 silver – 11 bronze) for third overall and it’s second best ever performance after a 28 medal performance in 2018.
This year, Canadian athletes have been busy with world championships, World Cups, and other events, with more still to come. Below is a look at the 2024-25 seasons for each sport:
Para nordic skiing (Para biathlon and Para cross-country skiing)
Mark Arendz and Natalie Wilkie are the big stars on the Canadian Para nordic team, now being led by retired Paralympic legend Brian McKeever as head coach. The pair bring plenty of experience with four and two Games appearances each, and 12 and seven medals respectively. They have not slowed down one iota since Beijing.
At the Para biathlon world championships last month in Slovenia, both racers collected two gold medals. Arendz took the men’s standing 7.5 kilometre and 12.5 kilometre races and Wilkie achieved the same in the women’s standing category. Zaplotinsky, a national team veteran, has emerged as a medal threat since Beijing in the men’s sitting classification and took silver in the 12.5 kilometres in Slovenia.
At the Para cross country worlds, Wilkie added two silver and Arendz a bronze. And just on Wednesday, Wilkie was second in the one kilometre sprint in a thrilling inaugural Para race at the Nordic World Championships in Norway.
Multiple Paralympic Games medallists Collin Cameron of Sudbury, Ont. and Brittany Hudak of Prince Albert, Sask. hope to return to top form for next season after some injury issues.
Source: https://paralympic.ca/news/