Nova Scotia has won its third gold medal of the 2023 Canada Winter Games in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. In the female 2.5 kilometre classic Para Nordic Standing cross country skiing event on Tuesday, Emma Archibald of Fall River, Nova Scotia won the gold medal.
Archibald suffers from Amniotic Band Syndrome. In this disability, Archibald misses part of her hands and feet.
In an event that used an interval start, Archibald posted a winning time of nine minutes, 44.1 seconds. Madison Mullin of Fergus, Ontario won the silver medal with a time of 10 minutes, 2.9 seconds. Denyse Dawe of Edmonton, Alberta won the bronze medal with a time of 10 minutes, 52.6 seconds. Nova Scotia’s two prior gold medals came in curling and karate.
The female 2.5 kilometre classic Para Nordic Standing cross country skiing event did not come without controversy however. The reason is there were only three competitors in the event, meaning all athletes were guaranteed a medal. Nothing against the athletic performances of Archibald, Mullin and Dawe, but the Canada Games need to reevaluate what constitutes a full medal event at the Games and put in a stipulation for a minimum number of competitors greater than three for an event to take place. The 10 kilometre male cross country skiing race meanwhile had 66 competitors.
Quebec currently leads the overall medal standings with 89 medals. They have 34 gold medals, 29 silver medals and 26 bronze medals.
