Wilkie and Arendz win gold at Para biathlon world championships

Photos courtesy of IBU

POKLJUKA, Slovenia – Natalie Wilkie of Salmon Arm, B.C., and Mark Arendz of Hartsville, PEI each won a gold medal on Thursday to open the Para biathlon world championships.

In the men’s 7.5 kilometre standing, Arendz missed his first target this season but hung on to top spot clocking 20 minutes and 14.0 seconds. Marco Maier of Germany was second in 20:15.2 and Xiaobin Liu of China third in 20:30.1.

“It was way too close, definitely closer than I would have liked,’’ said Arendz, a four-time Paralympian with 11 Games medals. ‘’I don’t think I’ve quite learned how to ski this course effectively yet.’’

Arendz noted some errors in his race, which distracted him and resulted in a crucial missed target.

‘’The miss really jeopardized the race,’’ he said. ‘’At that point, I thought I was fighting for second place. I’m not entirely sure where I found the extra time, but I managed to squeeze out a few seconds on the final lap and secure the victory.’’

In the women’s standing 7.5 kilometre, Wilkie successfully defended her title from 2023 clocking 22 minutes and 23.3 seconds. Zhao Zhiqing of China followed in 22:26.4 and Oleksandra Kononova of Ukraine was third in 22:37.9.

Wilkie and Zhao both went 10 for 10 shooting.

‘’I finally shot clean for the first time this year,’’ said Wilkie, a double Paralympic Games champion in cross country at Beijing 2022. ‘’My skiing was decent as well so that made for a really great day.’’

Brittany Hudak of Prince Albert, Sask., was fourth in 23:02.2.

Derek Zaplotinsky of Smoky Lake, Alta., was seventh in the men’s 7.5 kilometre sitting.

Competition resumes on Saturday.

Athlete comments provided by IBU and Nordiq Canada