Norway – Natalie Wilkie of Salmon Arm, BC experienced one of the great moments of her career Wednesday as she won the silver medal in the women’s standing Para cross country skiing sprint event at the World Nordic Skiing Championships.
More than 35,000 have been attending the competition each day in the mecca of nordic skiing. Vilde Nielsen of Norway delighted her home crowd with gold in three minutes and 52.92 seconds in the one kilometre dash. Wilkie, the leader after Tuesday’s qualifying, followed just 0.21 seconds behind. Sydney Peterson of the U.S. was third.
‘’The crowd has been insane here,” said Wilkie. ‘’Entering the finish straight, I’ve never experienced anything like that. With the battle between Vilde and I it was obviously very exciting for spectators. ‘The crowd noise distracted me a bit at the start of the race but once we going, it was blinders on and just go.”
This was the first time Para races were included at the Nordic Worlds. Wilkie, a two-time Paralympian, was the only Canadian entry in the Para races.
‘’It’s really special that Para was included at these world championships,’’ said Wilkie. ‘’It’s a huge step and I think it’s really awesome to perform in front of so many people. It’s cool to experience that.’’
The result caps a great season for the 24-year-old Wilkie, a seven-time medallist, which includes three gold, over the past two Paralympic Winter Games.
Last month she was a double gold medallist at the Para biathlon world championships in Slovenia and added two silver at the Para cross country skiing worlds in Italy.
Wilkie, who lost four fingers on her left hand in a school workshop accident in 2016 and skis with one pole, has left no doubt she is primed for success at next year’s Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in Italy.
Photo, comments collected by Nordiq Canada
