[MEDAL ALERT] Tyler Turner wins Canada’s first gold in Para snowboard

BEIJING – Tyler Turner of Campbell River, B.C. couldn’t be caught on Monday, and he rode away with the gold in the men’s Para snowboard cross at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing.

It is Canada’s first Paralympic Games gold in the sport.

Turner, 33, dominated his quarterfinal, semifinal and final as he grabbed early leads and completely outdistanced himself from his opponents. Mike Schultz of the U.S. took the silver and Zhongwei Wu of China was third.

Turner lost both legs below the knee because of a skydiving accident in 2017 but later returned to the sport he loved. He won a World Cup event in 2021 then collected two gold and a bronze at the recent world championships which included a victory in the snowboard cross.