Natalie Wilkie and Mark Arendz earn hardware in Day 2 of Para biathlon

Natalie Wilkie won a silver medal on Saturday, and it was the second-best day of her weekend.

The Para nordic athlete had her golden moment on Sunday, winning in women’s individual standing biathlon (33:01.8) for her fourth career Paralympic gold medal, and ninth overall Paralympic medal.

“This is pretty unreal,” the Salmon Arm, B.C., native told the CPC after winning gold, with a Canada flag draped behind her back. “Obviously the silver was awesome yesterday, but the gold today is even better.”

Wilkie finished more than 30 seconds ahead of China’s Zhao Zhiqing (33:33.5) and Ukraine’s Oleksandra Kononova (33:37.9) who won silver and bronze respectively. Canada’s Brittany Hudak had a strong performance, finishing fifth (34:47.0). A native of Prince Albert, Sask., it was Hudak’s first top-five finish of these Games, having finished sixth in Saturday’s sprint.

On the men’s side, Mark Arendz earned silver in the individual standing (30:52.5), his first medal of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, and 13th career Paralympic medal. A native of Hartsville, P.E.I., Arendz finished less than 30 seconds behind China’s Jiayun Cai, who won his second gold medal in as many days.

Arendz had a tough start after some early misses, but dug deep, and grinded his way to the podium.

“Hearing the split half-way through the race that I was only in 10th place, that’s not something I’m used to,” said Arendz after his performance. “This is a really tough field, and you have to be … is there a better than perfect?”

It was a busy day for Canadian Para biathlonists, with six Para nordic athletes featured in Sunday’s slate. 

Collin Cameron of Bracebridge, Ont., earned his first top-10 finish of the Games, finishing seventh in the men’s individual sitting (37:26.4). Smoky Lake, Alta.’s, Derek Zaplotinsky finished 24th in the same race.

Christina Picton of Fonthill, Ont., had a top-10 finish of her own, coming in eighth in the women’s individual sitting, improving on her 10th place finish in Saturday’s sprint.

“(I) learned from yesterday’s race, brought a few different tactics into today, and left it all out there on the course,” said Picton after an impressive 19/20 shooting performance.

Para nordic action resumes Wednesday, March 11 with cross-country skiing, with Para biathlon action on hold until Friday, March 13.