Decorated Para nordic skiers Mark Arendz and Natalie Wilkie will lead the Canadian team at the upcoming Milan Cortina Paralympic Games. The team of 15 skiers, set to compete at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in the Fiemme Valley, was unveiled in Calgary on Friday. The Paralympic Games are scheduled to take place from March 6 to 15 following the conclusion of the Olympic Games in Italy.
Mark Arendz, hailing from Hartsville, P.E.I., is a highly accomplished athlete with a collection of twelve Paralympic medals in both cross-country skiing and biathlon, including two gold medals. This will mark his fifth appearance at the Winter Games. Meanwhile, Natalie Wilkie, representing Salmon Arm, B.C., is a triple Paralympic champion with seven medals to her name, and she is preparing for her third Paralympic Games.
In recent years, Canada’s nordic skiing team has been a dominant force at the Paralympic Games. The team secured a total of 14 medals in Beijing in 2022 and set a record with 16 medals in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.