Natalie Wilkie sprints to bronze to open Para cross-country skiing action

Natalie Wilkie completed her rainbow of medals on Tuesday, as the Para nordic skiing star raced to a bronze medal in women’s sprint standing for her third medal of the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games. 

Wilkie, from Salmon Arm, B.C., owns one medal of each colour at these Games, previously winning gold and silver in Para biathlon. She now has 10 career Paralympic medals over three Games.

“I’m pretty happy,” Wilkie told CPC after her podium finish. “I did kind of want the gold, but this is the bronze, and it completes my set of gold, silver, bronze. This is a significant medal because it’s my 10th Paralympic medal, so I am actually really happy about that.”

Wilkie raced the fastest time in the semi-finals with a 3:31.4, and earned third place in the final with a time of 3:40.2, behind Sydney Peterson of the United States (3:35.5) and Norway’s Vilde Nilsen (3:31.3). Twenty-two-year-old Emma Archibald made her Paralympic debut in the same discipline, advancing to the semi-finals and finishing 8th overall.

“It was amazing,” Archibald said, of her Games debut. “I was a bit stressed this morning, a bit nervous. But after getting that first heat done with and being able to do it strong, I think I came back stronger for the semi-final. I was really happy that I got that second chance and made it through to the semi-finals, it was amazing.”

Archibald, from Fall River, N.S., wasn’t the only one making her Paralympic debut on Tuesday in Para cross-country. 

In the men’s visually impaired category, Logan Larivière of Lively, Ont., and guide Joe Hutton of North Bay, Ont., raced to a 12th-place finish in qualifiers, while Jesse Bachinsky of Kenora, Ont., and guide Levi Nadlersmith of Boissevain, Man., finished 15th. Meanwhile in the men’s sitting, Leo Sammarelli of Vancouver finished 29th in qualifiers.

In men’s standing, 13-time Paralympic medalist Mark Arendz made it to the finals and finished in sixth place, seven seconds behind a podium finish. 

Competing at his third Games, Collin Cameron of Bracebridge, Ont., finished second in qualifiers in the men’s sitting. Owing to a collision in the semi-finals, he finished in 11th overall.

In the women’s sitting category, 2022 Paralympian Lyne-Marie Bilodeau of Sherbrooke, Que., raced to a 17th-place finish in qualifiers, while Christina Picton of Fonthill, Ont., made it through to the semi-finals, where she finished 9th overall. In women’s visually impaired, Maddie Mullin of Fergus, Ont., and guide Brooke Ailey of North Bay qualified for the semi-finals, where they finished 6th overall.

Para cross-country action continues on Wednesday with 10km races taking place.