Collin Cameron, Natalie Wilkie finish top 10 in Para cross-country skiing to conclude Paralympics

TESERO, Italy – Natalie Wilkie and Collin Cameron posted top-10 results in the 20 kilometre cross country skiing events Sunday to conclude a successful Paralympic WInter Games for the Canadian Para nordic team.

Wilkie, an 11-time medallist over three Games, was sixth in the women’s 20 kilometre standing on a rainy day at the Tesero Cross Country Skiing Stadium.

The Salmon Arm, B.C. resident was Canada’s most dominant athlete at these Games with four medals which included two gold medals.

“Today was just about getting out there and putting in the work,” Wilkie told the CPC after her race. “Unfortunately my legs are pretty tired, and mentally I’m a little bit fried.”

Later Sunday, Wilkie is set to carry the Canadian flag for the Closing Ceremony, alongside curler Mark Ideson. She  will become the first Canadian to bear the flag for the opening and closing ceremonies of the same Paralympic Games.

“I’m so looking forward to it,” said Wilkie. “It’s such a special way to bookend the Paralympics.”

Bracebridge, Ont.’s Cameron was 10th in a tight men’s 20km sitting Para cross country race. It was his fourth top-10 finish of these Games for Cameron who has battled injuries the last three seasons.

“I’m feeling really really good right now,” Cameron said at the finish line. “As bad as the weather was, (it’s about) finding the joy in it.”

Vancouver’s Leo Sammarelli finished 27th in the same race, concluding his first Paralympic Games.

In the women’s 20km sitting, Fonthill, Ont., native Christina Picton narrowly missed the top-10, finishing 11th. Lyne-Marie Bilodeau of Sherbrooke, Que., finished 15th. Picton echoed the frustration with the conditions, but was optimistic about the experience.

“It was slow and mucky,” Picton said. “I still feel accomplished, and happy with myself that I started and finished the race.”

Rounding out the Canadian field was Winnipeg’s Jesse Bachinsky and his guide Levi Nadlersmith of Boissevain, Man., 14th in the men’s visually impaired race.

“Being here is a wonderful experience,” Bachinsky said. “I’m going to hold it with me for a very long time.”