Team Canada has had its best Paralympic Winter Games of all-time. On Saturday in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Canada increased its medal total to 24 medals. The most medals they previously had was 19 medals at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver.
Canada had five medals on the second last day of the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games–two gold medals and three bronze medals. The gold medals came in cross-country skiing, and the bronze medals came in curling and cross-country skiing.
The Canadian gold medalists were Brian McKeever of Calgary, Alberta in the men’s 10 kilometre classic cross country skiing event for the visually impaired and Natalie Wilkie of Salmon Arm, British Columbia in the women’s 7.5 kilometre classic cross country skiing event in the standing division.
McKeever had a winning time of 23 minutes, 17.8 seconds. Jake Adicoff of the United States won the silver medal with a time of 24 minutes, 31.3 seconds. Yury Holub of Belarus won the bronze medal with a time of 24 minutes, 37.1 seconds. McKeever beat out Thomas Clarion of France by 1:43.3 to earn a medal. Clarion had a fourth place time of 25:01.1.
Wilkie had a winning time of 22 minutes, 12.2 seconds. Ekaterina Rumyantseva of the Neutral Paralympic Athletes won the silver medal with a time of 22 minutes, 13.8 seconds. Emily Young of Vancouver, British Columbia finished in third place with a time of 22 minutes, 13.9 seconds.
Wiklie and Young easily reached the podium. Wilkie earned a medal by 20.1 seconds and Young earned a medal by 18.4 seconds over Anna Milenina of the Neutral Paralympic Athletes, who had a fourth place time of 22:32.3.
In the men’s 10 kilometre standing cross country skiing division, Mark Arendz of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island won his second career medal in cross-country skiing at the Paralympic Winter Games and seventh medal overall (other five came in biathlon) when he finished third. Arendz had a third place time of 24:27.1. Yoshihiro Nitta of Japan won the gold medal with a time of 24:06.8. Grygorii Vovchynskyi of the Ukraine won the silver medal with a time of 24:15.5. Arendz won his medal by 10.8 seconds over Ihor Reptyukh of the Ukraine, who finished in fourth place with a time of 24:37.9.
Canada also won bronze in wheelchair curling. The Canadian team of Mark Ideson of Parry Sound, Ontario, Ina Forrest of Vernon, British Columbia, Dennis Thiessen of Crystal City, Manitoba and Marie Wright of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan defeated South Korea 5-3 in the bronze medal game. China beat Norway 6-5 to win gold.
Canada’s 24 medals is second behind the United States, who have 35 medals. The Neutral Paralympic Athletes also have 24 medals.
