Vuokatti – Canada’s Para nordic team started the season with seven podium finishes, including three golds in Vuokatti, Finland after three days of biathlon racing. All eyes were on defending World Cup champion Mark Arendz, following his perfect record last year.
“Coming into this season was just about starting new,” said 11-time Paralympic medalist Arendz. “Last season was that undefeated season, but this year we start with different focuses as we look towards the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games.”
Arendz picked up right where he left off, capturing gold in the 7.5-kilometre sprint race and shooting a perfect 10-for-10 on the range. Finishing 12 seconds behind was Ukraine’s Serhii Romaniuk, with China’s Xiaobin Liu 11 seconds back.
“I’m really happy with how it went today,” Arendz said after the race. “You never know where your fitness is for the first race of the season, especially after travel and fighting jet lag, but I was really happy with how the body reacted. I’m happy with how I felt, and shooting clean on the range, so it’s great to settle my nerves and get that first one under the belt.”
In the women’s standing field, Canada’s Natalie Wilkie captured bronze after two misses, behind China’s Yujie Guo, who took gold, and Ukraine’s Liudmyla Liashenko, who claimed silver. Brittany Hudak finished sixth with one miss on the range.
After a difficult summer battling injuries, Collin Cameron finished fifth in the men’s sitting field with a time of 23:49 and two misses, while Derek Zaplotinsky finished seventh with a time of 24:13, shooting a perfect 10-for-10.
“It was hard missing the majority of last year through illness, and then again having to take time off training for three months this summer for a shoulder injury, “Cameron said. “I think I proved that, despite so much time off, I can still compete with the best in my sport. It was a great feeling to finish fifth in my first biathlon race of the year.”
On the second day of competition, Canada finished first and second in Women’s Standing in the 12.5-kilometre individual event. Natalie Wilkie took gold with one miss on the range and a time of 38:33. Hudak secured silver, shooting a perfect 20-for-20 with a time of 38:56. China’s Yujie Guo earned bronze with a time of 39:14.
Source: https://paralympic.ca/news/