| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Canadian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | January 21, 2001 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Para Nordic skiing (Para cross-country skiing) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | LW8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Natalie Wilkie (born January 21, 2001) is a Canadian Paralympic cross-country skier. As the youngest member of Team Canada at the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games, Wilkie won gold, silver, and bronze medals at the PyeongChang, South Korea games. [1]
Wilkie began training and competing in able-bodied cross-country skiing when she was 4 years old, growing up near the Larch Hills Cross Country Ski Area near Salmon Arm, BC, Canada.
In June 2016, as a Grade 9 student at Salmon Arm Secondary School, Wilkie lost four fingers on her left hand in an accident involving a jointer during a school woodworking class. She resumed training with her able-bodied ski club only two weeks after the accident. [2]
Wilkie was introduced to para cross-country skiing at a camp in Canmore, Alberta in November 2016. Today, she competes nationally in Canada in both Paralympic cross-country skiing [3] using a single ski pole and in able-bodied cross-country skiing using two ski poles.
Wilkie was designated the “CTV Athlete of the Week” on December 18, 2017. [4]
In February 2018, Wilkie was selected as the youngest member of the PyeongChang 2018 Canadian Paralympic Team. [1] At the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games, at the age of 17, she won a gold medal in the Women's 7.5 km Classic, Standing, a silver medal in the 4x2.5 Mixed Relay, a bronze medal in the Women's 1.5 km Sprint Classic, Standing, and placed sixth in the Women's 15 km Free, Standing. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
At the 2019 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships held in Prince George, Canada, Wilkie won silver medals in the Women's Long C, Standing and Mixed Relay events. She also earned 4th place finishes in the Women's Sprint F, Standing and Women's Middle F, Standing events. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] At the Sapporo 2019 World Para Nordic Skiing World Cup held in March 2019, Wilkie won a gold medal in the Women's Short C, Standing and a silver medal in the Women's Middle F, Standing events. [15] [16]
Simon Patmore, is an Australian Para-athletics and Para-snowboard competitor. He won a gold medal in the Men's 100m T46 at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, and bronze in the Men's 200m T46 at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. At the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Games, Patmore won a gold medal in the Men's Snowboard Cross SB-UL and bronze in the Men's Banked Slalom SB-UL.
LW2 is a para-Alpine and para-Nordic standing ski sport class defined by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Competitors in this class have severe disability in a lower limb, which may be a result of an amputation, or arthrodesis in the leg and hip. Depending on the type of skiing, the international classification process for LW2 skiers is handled by the IPC Alpine Skiing Technical Committee and IPC Nordic Skiing Technical Committee. National sport federations handle classification on the lower levels.
LW5/7 is a standing para-Alpine and para-Nordic skiing classification for skiers with upper extremity issues in both limbs that may include double amputation of both arms and hands or dysmelia of the upper limbs. The class has three subclasses defined by the location of the disability on the upper extremities. International classification is done by IPC Alpine Skiing and IPC Nordic Skiing. On the national level, classification is handled by national sports federation such as Cross-Country Canada.
LW6/8 is a para-Alpine and para-Nordic standing skiing sport class, a classification defined by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for people with an upper extremity issue who have paralysis, motor paresis affecting one arm, a single upper arm amputation or CP8 classified cerebral palsy. LW6/8 skiers use two skis and one pole in both para-Alpine and para-Nordic skiing.
LW9 is a para-Alpine and para-Nordic standing skiing sport class, a classification defined by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for people with upper and lower limb function problems, and includes cerebral palsy skiers classified CP5, CP6 and CP7, along with people with hemiplegia or amputations. For international skiing competitions, classification is done through IPC Alpine Skiing or IPC Nordic Skiing. A national federation such as Alpine Canada handles classification for domestic competitions. This classification is separated into two subclasses including LW9.1 and LW9.2.
Melissa Perrine is a B2 classified visually impaired para-alpine skier from Australia. She has competed at the four Winter Paralympics from 2010 to 2022. At the 2015 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships, she won three gold, one silver and one bronze medals. At the 2018 Winter Paralympics, she won two bronze medals.
Mark Arendz is a Canadian biathlon and Para-Nordic skier. He was disabled at the age of seven when his arm got caught in the blades of a grain auger. He participated in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Winter Paralympics and won 8 medals in total, including gold in the men's 15km biathlon standing at the 2018 games.
Yoshihiro Nitta is a Japanese Paralympic cross-country skier and biathlete. He is regarded as one of the most experienced Japanese Paralympic competitors as he went onto represent Japan at the Paralympics in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. Yoshihiro Nitta has clinched 4 medals in his Paralympic career including 2 gold medals at the 2010 Winter Paralympics. He achieved his 4th Paralympic medal in his career and the first medal since the 2010 Winter Paralympics after claiming a silver medal in the men's 1.5km sprint classic standing cross-country skiing event during the 2018 Winter Paralympics.
Canada competed at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 18 March 2018. Canada sent a team of 55 athletes to compete in all six sports. The chef de mission was retired sledge hockey player Todd Nicholson, appointed in January 2017.
France sent 15 athletes and two guides to the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. They competed in para-alpine skiing, para-Nordic skiing and para-snowboarding. Marie Bochet carried the flag during the Opening Ceremony.
Kendall Gretsch is an American triathlete, biathlete and cross-country skier. She was born with spina bifida. She has competed in both Summer Paralympics and Winter Paralympics and has a unique distinction of winning gold medals in both Summer Paralympics and Winter Paralympics.
Japan sent competitors to the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The group from Japan competed in para-alpine skiing, para-Nordic skiing, para-snowboarding and sledge hockey.
Tajikistan sent competitors the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Two people will be competing in para-Nordic skiing in Tajikistan's first appearance at the Winter Paralympics. They trained in Germany and China before the start of the Games.
Austria sent competitors the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Austria sent 13 people to compete in three sports: para-alpine skiing, para-snowboarding, and cross-country skiing.
Belarus sent competitors the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. People are competing in para-Nordic skiing. The team includes one woman and one man. Both had gone to the Winter Paralympics before. The country has a history of doing well at the Winter Paralympics, having first gone in 1994. Going to South Korea, they had already won 23 Winter Paralympic medals.
Serbia sent competitors to the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. One person on the team is para-Nordic skier Milos Zaric. In addition to para-Nordic skier, Zaric is also a para-athlete. He is the world champion in the men's F55 javelin.
Brittany Hudak is a Canadian biathlete and cross-country skier.
Mike Minor is an American adaptive athlete, World Champion snowboarder, and a Paralympian who competed for the United States at the 2018 Winter Paralympics. He won gold in Snowboarding at the 2018 Winter Paralympics – Men's banked slalom and bronze in Men's snowboard cross division SB-UL. During his childhood, Minor was given a prosthetic part for his right arm. He starting skiing at the age of two and started snowboarding at the age of seven. He was nominated for the Best Male Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award in 2017.
Emily Young, also known as Emily Weekes, is a Canadian female Paralympic cross-country skier and biathlete. She has competed formerly as a wrestler and triathlete for Canada in international and national competitions.
