Tyler Turner wins Canada’s first gold at World Para Snow Sports Championships

LILLEHAMMER, Norway – Tyler Turner of Calgary won Canada’s first gold medal at the World Para Snow Sports Championships on Friday with a victory in the men’s snowboard cross.

Lisa DeJong of Saskatoon also took another step towards a first time Paralympic Games team nomination, adding a silver in her snowboard cross race. That brings Canada’s medal count to 12 (one gold, six silver and five bronze) after nine days of competition. Both the Para snowboard and Para alpine teams have won six medals each.

In the men’s lower limb 1 race, Turner won the four-man final in 59.21 seconds for the gold medal. Mike Schultz of the U.S. was second, 1.56 seconds behind the Canadian, followed by another American Tyler Burdick in third and Chris Vos of the Netherlands fourth.

‘’Mike Schultz, Tyler Burdick, Chris Vos these are the best of the best’’’ added Turner. ‘’It’s amazing racing with them. They push to such a crazy level. I feel like I’m just rolling and enjoying it.’’

Turner won his quarterfinal by over five seconds and his semifinal by more than three seconds. It was the 33-year-old’s second medal at the worlds after a bronze last Friday in the banked slalom and his second international win. He also won gold in his World Cup debut last spring. Turner lost both legs below the knee in a skydiving accident in 2017.

It was also a second medal for DeJong, a 32-year-old mother of two young daughters, in Lillehammer. The left leg below the knee amputee was second to Lisa Bunschoten of the Netherlands in the women’s LL2 final. Another Dutch rider Renske Van Beek was third and Romy Tschoop of Switzerland fourth.

‘’Struggling through training with a knee injury and having the doctor contact me the night before the race to tell me they think I have a fractured patella definitely made things difficult,’’ DeJong wrote on her Instagram account. ‘’But it was awesome racing these fast, badass girls, good race!’’

Sandrine Hamel of St-Sauveur, Que. was fifth after earning a bronze in the banked slalom last week.

Alex Massie of Barrie, Ont., a silver medallist in the banked slalom, reached the men’s LL2 snowboard cross final and was fourth.

Competition continues Friday with the snowboard team event and the women’s slalom in Para alpine skiing.

These worlds also feature Para nordic skiing (cross country and biathlon) but the Canadian Para nordic team decided to skip the event and pursue their training at home.

For more information, please visit the event’s official website at Paralympic.org/lillehammer-2021.

Live streaming of the competition is available via the International Paralympic Committee’s YouTube channel.