BEIJING – Canada is up to 21 medals at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games following day seven of competition, thanks to podium performances by Mollie Jepsen in Para alpine skiing and Tyler Turner in Para snowboard alongside Mark Arendz and Brittany Hudak in Para nordic skiing. All four athletes are multi-medallists in Beijing. Canada’s wheelchair curling team also contributed a triumphant bronze medal, while the country is guaranteed a medal in Para ice hockey following a semifinal victory on Friday.
MEDALS WON ON MARCH 11
SILVER – Mollie Jepsen, Para Alpine Skiing, Women’s Standing Giant Slalom
SILVER – Mark Arendz, Para Nordic Skiing (Biathlon), Men’s Standing Individual 12.5km
BRONZE – Brittany Hudak, Para Nordic Skiing (Biathlon), Women’s Standing Individual 12.5km
BRONZE – Tyler Turner, Para Snowboard, Men’s SB-LL1 Banked Slalom
BRONZE – Wheelchair Curling Team (Ina Forrest, Mark Ideson, Dennis Thiessen, Jon Thurston, Collinda Joseph)
OVERALL MEDAL TOTAL
Gold: 7
Silver: 4
Bronze: 10
Total: 21
RESULTS SUMMARY
Para Alpine Skiing
Mollie Jepsen claimed her second medal of the 2022 Games with a silver in the women’s standing giant slalom. She finished with a combined time of 2:00.95 following her two runs down the course to add the second place to the downhill title she won on day one of the Games. The result is an improvement on the bronze she won in the giant slalom four years ago.
Jepsen, age 22, now has six career Paralympic medals, having added two in Beijing to the four she came home with from PyeongChang.
“I’ve been mostly focusing on giant slalom, Super-G, and downhill for the last four years, so I’m happy I was able to show I’m a versatile skier,” said Jepsen.
“I don’t know if it’s fully set in. I definitely had high expectations and goals going into the GS event, and I’m happy I was able to stick it on the podium.”
In the same race, Michaela Gosselin was sixth while Alana Ramsay – a double bronze medallist in Beijing – did not finish her second run after posting the sixth-fastest time in run one.
Katie Combaluzier finished the women’s sitting event in eighth.
Wheelchair Curling
Canada has claimed back-to-back bronze in wheelchair curling.
After a 9-5 loss in the semifinals to China earlier in the day, Canada returned to the curling rink in the evening to play for the bronze. And with an 8-3 victory over Slovakia, the Canadian squad earned the win and a fifth consecutive Paralympic podium. Up 4-3 heading into the eighth end, Canada secured the triumph with a takeout on the last throw courtesy of Jon Thurston.
“Everyone showed up to play,” said skip Mark Ideson. “Jon made a couple of beauties to finish it off. We’re so happy to win the bronze. It stings when you lose the semi, and you don’t get a chance to play for gold, but we’re really happy to play and win the bronze.”
Ina Forrest, Canada’s co-flag bearer in the Opening Ceremony, adds a fourth medal to her impressive Paralympic resume (two gold, two bronze), while Ideson and Dennis Thiessen now both have a gold and two bronze medals to their names in their third Paralympic appearance. Thurston and Collinda Joseph are medallists in their first Games appearance.
Canada has now won a medal in all five Games since wheelchair curling joined the program – gold in 2006, 2010, and 2014, and bronze in 2018 and 2022.
Para Ice Hockey
Canada entered its semifinal game against South Korea with a mission and was not to be denied, posting a resounding 11-0 victory to secure its place in Sunday’s gold medal match.
On his 28th birthday, team captain Tyler McGregor was Canada’s points leader with four goals and two assists. Six-time Paralympian Billy Bridges added a hat trick, while Anton Jacobs-Webb, Garrett Riley, Liam Hickey, and Greg Westlake each all found the back of the net.
“I am proud of the way our group played today. We had contributions from everyone; even guys that will not show up on the scoresheet still made an impact by blocking shots and killing penalties,” said McGregor. “Everyone is feeling really good about themselves and about the team, and that is very important heading into a gold medal game.”
Dominic Larocque and Adam Kingsmill shared goaltending duties in the shutout, but didn’t see much action as Canada outshot Korea 43-3.
“We need to be consistent and keep doing what we have been doing,” said head coach Ken Babey. “We need to rely on our defensive structure to shut down scoring opportunities from either team we could play in the gold medal game. When we shut other teams down defensively, we are able to create offence, and that is what we have been preaching to our players. For the most part, we have been very consistent with that, and we have continued to get better every day. We are excited for the chance to play for a Paralympic gold medal.”
The final will be a re-match between the world’s top two Para ice hockey nations – Canada and the United States, after the Americans defeated China in the second semifinal. The Americans won gold four years ago, Canada the silver.
Para Nordic Skiing – Biathlon
Para biathlon concluded on Friday with the individual 12.5km races, and Canada’s Mark Arendz continued his march to the podium. With a silver medal in the men’s standing classification, the 32-year-old has claimed a medal of each colour in the three biathlon events. In the 12.5km, Arendz was firmly in second position through most of the race and crossed the finish line in 40:13.0.
He adds the silver to his gold in the middle distance and bronze in the sprint. He now holds 11 total Paralympic podiums.
“The medals mean that I’ve been consistent and that is definitely is the key to biathlon,” said Arendz. “I’ve been able to balance my strength in skiing and shooting, and I think that really shows by having a medal of each colour in all three events.”
Brittany Hudak defended the bronze medal she won in this event four years, finishing third in the women’s standing category with a time of 49:03.4. This is Hudak’s second medal in Beijing after winning bronze in the cross country long distance event. In the same race, Emily Young crossed the finish line in sixth.
“I started the race a little more controlled knowing I wanted to shoot clean, but when I had my first miss, I knew I had to ski harder,” said Hudak. “I then had a second miss, but I was still happy with my ski speed and that kept me motivated throughout the race. To get on the podium with two misses in this race is a great day for me.”
In the men’s sitting competition, Collin Cameron narrowly missed out on the bronze medal for fourth place. He had podiumed in this distance four years ago. Cameron has two bronze in Beijing, both coming in cross country. Fellow sit skier Derek Zaplotinsky was 10th.
The women’s sitting event saw Christina Picton end up seventh.
Para Snowboard
After becoming Canada’s first-ever Paralympic champion in Para snowboard on Monday, Tyler Turner is now the nation’s first double medallist in the sport in his debut Games, winning bronze in the men’s SB-LL1 banked slalom. Sitting with the sixth-best time after the first run down the course, Turner upped his game for his second opportunity, improving by over one second. With the final standings taking riders’ best time of their two runs, Turner posted a 1:12.84 mark to clinch third overall.
“This is a bonus bronze medal, I had no expectations today,” said Turner, whose stronger event is the snowboard cross in which he won gold.
“Winning two medals is more than I came here to do. I came here and wanted to win a medal in snowboard cross. After that gold medal, I didn’t even suspect this was a possibility to win two medals, and so I guess it shows what happens when you just keep it simple and have fun.”
Alex Massie was sixth in the men’s SB-LL2 event. In the women’s SB-LL2, Lisa DeJong finished eighth while Sandrine Hamel was 10th.
CLICK HERE for the complete Canadian Paralympic Team results on March 11.
