Wilkie, Arendz lead Canada’s 4-medal haul at Para-nordic World Cup biathlon season opener | CBC Sports

Canada’s Para-Nordic athletes combined to capture four medals on Tuesday at the World Cup biathlon season opener in Vuokatti, Finland.

Paralympic medallists, Natalie Wilkie and Mark Arendz, took gold in the women’s and men’s standing classifications, respectively. 

Wilkie, 21, celebrated her first biathlon victory at the World Cup with a time of 46:32.2 in the women’s 12.5-kilometre individual start race.

After she won silver in both of the first two cross-country ski races over the weekend, the seven-time Paralympic medallist in cross-country skiing missed just one shot in her four rounds of shooting to claim her third podium of the week.

“The race was really tight at first with four skiers all vying for the top spot,” said Wilkie. “I was moving up and down the ranks as people hit or missed shots every lap. I went 19 of 20 in shooting, and was able to keep up a fairly fast ski pace which gave me the lead position heading into the final two laps. After that it was all about skiing as fast as I could.

“A big shout out to the wax techs for the speedy skis, and to the coaches for helping me out.”

Ukraine’s Bohdana Konashuk claimed bronze at 49:15.5. 

Canada’s Christina Picton overcame a difficult day to win silver with a time of 1:00.51 in the women’s sit-ski classification. The 29-year-old missed one shot in each of her last three rounds of shooting.

Germany’s Anja Wicker shot clean and posted a winning time of 46:23.7. Korea’s Seunghee Han was third at 1:10:58.1 (0+1+0+0).

Mark Arendz got his World Cup season off to a perfect start. The 32-year-old from Hartsville, P.E.I., combined sharp shooting with fast skiing in a time of 39:20.4 to win the men’s 12.5km biathlon competition.

“It was a fantastic start to the season. I know I’m not anywhere near my best, but it is reassuring to see the results so far,” said Arendz, a 12-time Paralympic medallist.

The four-time Paralympian had double heel surgery in the off-season. 

Grygorii Vovchynskyi, of Ukraine, also shot clean on the range and posted a silver-medal time of 41:22.9.

Kazakhstan’s Alexandr Gerlits was third at 43:59.0 (1+0+1+1).

Derek Zaplotinsky, of Smoky Lake, Alta., finished fourth in the men’s sit-ski race with a time of 46:33.2. Zaplotinsky missed one shot in his first stop at the range.

The Para-Nordic World Cup season opener continues on Wednesday with the 10km individual start classic cross-country ski races.