Natalie Wilkie and Mark Arendz golden once again at Para biathlon World Cup

NOTSCHREI, Germany – Paralympic Games champions Natalie Wilkie of Salmon Arm, B.C., and Mark Arendz of Hartsville, P.E.I remained undefeated this season on the Para biathlon World Cup circuit with their fourth victories on Thursday.

The competition is the second stop on the circuit for the 2025-26 season. Last month at the season opener in Canmore, Alta., Arendz and Wilkie swept gold in all three races.

In Thursday’s 12.5 kilometre races, Arendz went 18 for 20 in the shooting range and clocked 36 minutes and 16.6 seconds to win the men’s standing event. Daviet Benjamin of France was second in 36:45.9 and Junbao Wu of China third in 36:49.9.

‘’It’s a fantastic feeling,’’ said Arendz, a 12-time Paralympic Winter Games medallist. ‘’There were a lot of things going on in this race, adapting to the changing weather and conditions. I skied really well and felt good on the course.’’

In the women’s standing, Wilkie was perfect shooting and clocked 39:50.1. Zhiqing Zhao of China was second in 39:56.2 and Hudak followed for the bronze in 40:52.3 with only one missed target.

‘’It sets the tone for the rest of the week here,’’ said Wilkie, a seven-time Paralympic Games medallist. ‘’I had a few struggles at the start of the race here but I was happy I was able to persevere through that.’’

Derek Zaplotinsky of Smokey Lake, Alta., was sixth in men’s sitting, Christina Picton of Fonthill, Ont., seventh in women’s sitting while Maddy Mullin of Fergus, Ont., and her guide Ailey Brooke of Thunder Bay, Ont., were seventh in the women’s visually impaired.

Competition continues Saturday with the sprint pursuit and Sunday with the 7.5 kilometre sprint.