Wilkie’s gold leads four-medal day for Canada at Para-Nordic World Cup in Finland

By The Canadian Press on December 18, 2022.

VUOKATTI, Finland – Canada’s Natalie Wilkie closed out a successful season-opening Para-Nordic World Cup with her fifth medal of the week.

She was one of four Canadians to earn a medal on Sunday. Mark Arendz, Brittany Hudak and Christina Picton also made it to the podium in the 7.5-kilometre biathlon events to cap off a medal haul of 22 for Canada.

Wilkie, of Salmon Arm, B.C., struck gold with a time of 24:21.1 in the women’s standing category for her second biathlon medal of the week.

“This race was a highlight for me this week. I shot clean and won the gold medal,” said Wilkie, a seven-time Paralympic medallist. “I’ve struggled to shoot quickly in the range, so my focus today was on skiing hard right off the start to try and make up time.

“I really felt the speed on my skis today and it carried over into my shooting as well. I was excited to see some great results from the whole team.”

Ukraine’s Liudmyla Liashenko finished second after missing three shots on the range, clocking a time of 25:07.3. Standing athletes have to ski a 150-metre penalty loop for every missed shot.

Liashenko edged out Brittany Hudak of Prince Albert, Sask., for silver by 0.5 seconds. The bronze was Hudak’s fourth podium finish of the week.

Mark Arendz shot clean to win a silver medal of his own in the men’s standing classification with a time of 21:33.9.

It was the third medal of the week for the 32-year-old from Hartsville, P.E.I.

“It was a great wrap up to the week, and to one of my best starts to a season that I have ever had,” said Arendz, who had double ankle surgery during the off-season. “The results were well beyond my expectations going into this World Cup.”

Arendz, a 12-time Paralympic medallist, narrowly missed his third biathlon gold of the week. France’s Benjamin Daviet took top spot on the podium by a mere 1.9 seconds.

Germany’s Marco Maier was third at 21:53.3 (0+1).

Picton also grabbed her fifth medal of the World Cup opener, posting a third-place time of 29:19.7 in the women’s sit-ski event. Picton of Fonthill, Ont., was forced to ski a 100-metre penalty loop twice for two missed shots.

Germany’s Anja Wicker claimed gold, stopping the clock at 24:07.4 (0+1). Korea’s Yunji Kim took silver with a time of 28:45.6.