Triple gold for Canada in Para biathlon World Cup at Paralympic Games venue

(Photo IBU)

VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – Canadians Mark Arendz, Brittany Hudak and Derek Zaplotinsky were all victorious in Wednesday’s pursuit races to open the Para biathlon World Cup event.

This week’s competition is being held at the Paralympic venue for the 2026 Milan- Cortina Games.

Zaplotinsky, from Smoky Lake, Alta., was perfect in the shooting range to edge Yerbol Khamitov of Kazakhstan by seven seconds for the men’s sitting gold. Zixu Liu of China was third.

‘’It was really special to get my first biathlon win,’’ said Zaplotinsky, 39, a two-time Paralmypian. ‘’It gives me a lot of confidence going into next year. I’m really looking forward to the Games.’’

Hudak, from Prince Albert, Sask., notched her women’s standing win in comeback style. She started third after the qualifying sprint in the morning but a flawless shooting performance put her first.

‘’In the final I really tried to focus on my own process and shoot clean,’’ said Hudak, a double bronze medallist at the 2022 Paralympics. ‘’I was really pleased I kept it together in the range and had consistent shooting.’’

Natalie Wilkie of Salmon Arm, B.C., was fifth.

China’s Zhiking Zhao, the leader at the halfway mark, missed five targets, to place third and Ukraine’s Iryna Bui was second.

Arendz, the five-time Paralympian completed the Canadian hat trick with a dominant victory. Marco Maier of Germany was second 46 seconds behind, while Grygorii Vovchynskyi of Ukraine was third.

“What a fantastic day for Canadians,’’ said Arendz, an 11-time Paralympic medallist from Hartsville, PEI. ‘’ I am really excited to keep this momentum going, especially with the world championships next week.’’

The World Cup runs until Sunday.