Natalie Wilkie of Salmon Arm, British Columbia has won the gold medal in the women’s standing sprint pursuit biathlon on Friday at the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo. For Wilkie, it was her 11th Paralympic medal and fifth Paralympic gold medal.
Wilkie posted a winning time of 12 minutes and 18 seconds. Iryna Bui of Ukraine won the silver medal with a time of 12 minutes, 35.7 seconds. Oleksandra Kononova of Ukraine won the bronze medal with a time of 12 minutes and 49 seconds. Wilkie reached the podium by 39.7 seconds. Sydney Peterson of the United States finished in fourth place with a time of 12 minutes, 57.7 seconds.
This was Wilkie’s fourth medal at the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo. She has been Canada’s most successful Paralympian in Italy so far. She has also won the gold medal in the women’s individual standing biathlon event, silver in the women’s sprint para biathlon standing, and bronze in the women’s sprint classical standing cross country skiing event.
In wheelchair curling, Canada won a dramatic semifinal game against South Korea by a score of 8-7. Canada was actually trailing 7-4 after six ends when they scored one point with the hammer in the seventh end and then stole three points in the eighth end. Canada will play China for gold on Saturday.
In para ice hockey, Canada defeated China 4-2 in the semifinals. Tyler McGregor of Forest, Ontario scored two Canadian goals, while Dominic Cozzolino of Mississauga, Ontario and Liam Hickey of St. John’s, Newfoundland each had one goal. Canada has now won 11 Paralympic medals. They have won two gold medals, three silver medals, and six bronze medals.
