Wilkie captures Canada's 1st gold of Milano-Cortina Paralympics, wins individual standing biathlon
CBC
Natalie Wilkie won Canada's first gold medal of the Milano-Cortina Paralympics, topping the podium in the women's standing biathlon on Sunday.
The 25-year-old from Salmon Arm, B.C., who took silver in the women's sprint a day earlier, completed her course in a time of 33 minutes, 1.8 seconds with no shooting penalties.
"Winning the gold was a dream but I wasn't really thinking about it too much because I needed to focus in and make sure I shot clean and skied well on this course," Wilkie said.
"I thought maybe, just maybe, it's good enough for a gold medal. That was definitely a big dream and today that dream came true, so I don't have words for how I'm feeling right now."
China's Zhao Zhiqing (33:33.5) earned silver, while Oleksandra Kononova (33:37.9) of Ukraine rounded out the podium.
Wilkie, who served as Canada's co-flag-bearer with ice hockey captain Tyler McGregor, has now collected a total of four Paralympic gold medals in her career, including nine medals overall.
She debuted as a 17-year-old at the Pyeongchang Games in 2018, where she won three medals – one of each colour – as the youngest member of that team's contingent.
"Today there were definitely a lot of nerves. The silver medal yesterday left me wanting more today, a different colour medal," Wilkie added.
"I was trying not to entertain those thoughts too much, and instead focus on the process and my preparation, and make sure I did all the steps this morning to make sure I was set up as well as I could be for today's race."
With two medals already secured, Wilkie is scheduled to compete four more times in these Games.
Going into the race, she sported multiple gold-themed accoutrements, including gold glitter on her face.
"I put it on before the race, I was manifesting today. I put on my gold glasses, I've got my gold poles, I definitely knew what I wanted today," Wilkie said.
Fellow Canadian Brittany Hudak, of Prince Albert, Sask., finished fifth in a time of 34:47.
On the men's side, Hartsville, P.E.I., native Mark Arendz took silver in the men's standing classification.
The Milano-Cortina Winter Paralympics officially opened Friday amid the tensions of war in the Middle East, and with some countries boycotting the opening ceremony because of the return of the Russian flag to the global sports stage.
Iran will not participate in the Milan Cortina Paralympics because its only athlete set to compete can't safely travel to Italy amid the intensifying Middle East conflict, the International Paralympic Committee said Friday.
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