2018 Sport Awards: Get to know your top athletes

An established veteran and a Games rookie were announced recently as recipients of 2018 Canadian Paralympic Sport Awards, in the category of Best Male and Female Athlete. Mark Arendz and Mollie Jepsen, respectively, will receive their awards at the 2018 Canadian Paralympic Sport Awards in Calgary on November 15. 
The pair were involved in 10 of Canada’s 28-medal record haul in PyeongChang this past March at the Paralympic Winter Games.

Mark Arendz

Mark Arendz was Canada’s individual star at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. He won six medals – three in biathlon and three in cross-country skiing with one gold, two silver and three bronze. The three-time Paralympian was Canada’s flag bearer at the Closing Ceremony.
The accolades and honours have been pouring in since his return from South Korea. And the even better news: the 28-year-old arm amputee has confirmed he’ll be chasing more medals at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing.

Fun facts:
–    Arendz was one of three recipients of the Order of Prince Edward Island for 2018, the province’s highest honour accorded to citizens.
–    His victory in the 12.5 kilometre standing biathlon event was Canada’s first-ever Games gold in Para biathlon.
–    Brookvale Provincial Park in PEI became the Mark Arendz Provincial Ski Park in 2018.
–    Arendz won five medals at the 2017 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships in 2017 after not reaching the podium at the 2015 worlds.
–    In 2014, he volunteered for SchoolBox and that spring travelled as a member of the non-profit group to Nicaragua to help build a school for a community ravaged by landslides.

Mollie Jepsen

Mollie Jepsen won four medals at her first-ever Paralympic Winter Games. The hand disability Para alpine skier took gold in super combined, a silver in slalom, and a bronze in both downhill and giant slalom. Entering the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, Jepsen was a triple medalist at the World Cup Final in Kimberley, British Columbia in February 2018. Prior to this, the 18-year-old’s career had been hampered by injuries including two torn ACLs and a fractured ankle in 2016-2017.

Fun facts:
–    Jepsen is an outstanding scholar and was recently accepted at Queen’s University in kinesiology.
–    She was the Athlete Ambassador for the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s Paralympian Search this past summer in Victoria.
–    She was a speaker at the 2018 Canada Day Celebrations on Parliament Hill alongside fellow Paralympian Brian McKeever and Olympians Kim Boutin and Mikael Kingsbury. 
–    Her victory in the Super Combined (one run of Super G and one run of slalom) in PyeongChang was the first time she had actually competed in the event.
–    Lost in all the Paralympic Games excitement is that Jepsen won the Crystal Globe for the 2017-18 season for top spot in the overall World Cup standings.