Canadian Para cross-country skier Natalie Wilkie added another world championship medal to her collection on Wednesday after racing to silver at the nordic skiing worlds in Trondheim, Norway.
The three-time Paralympic champion from Salmon Arm, B.C., reached the sprint classic podium in the women’s standing category, finishing just 0.21 seconds behind Norwegian favourite Vilde Nilsen in the one-kilometre event.
Nilsen captured gold in front of the large home crowd with a time of three minutes 52.92 seconds in the six-woman final. American Sydney Peterson claimed bronze.
”The crowd has been insane here,” said Wilkie, who led Tuesday’s qualifying. ”Entering the finish straight, I’ve never experienced anything like that. With the battle between Vilde and I it was obviously very exciting for spectators.
”The crowd noise distracted me a bit at the start of the race but once we going, it was blinders on and just go.”
This was the first time Para races were included in the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, after previously being a part of the Para nordic edition.
”It’s really special that Para was included at these world championships,” Wilkie said. ”It’s a huge step and I think it’s really awesome to perform in front of so many people. It’s cool to experience that.”
The 24-year-old was the lone Canadian entry.
Wilkie, a seven-time Paralympic medallist, is poised for more success at next year’s Milano-Cortina Games after another standout season.
She claimed a pair of silvers at last month’s Para cross-country worlds in Toblach, Italy, crossing the finish line behind Nilsen in the 10km an 20km interval start freestyle events. Wilkie also captured two Para biathlon world titles last month in Pokljuka, Slovenia.
Wilkie competes in the LW8 classification for skiers with arm impairments, skiing with one pole.
She lost four fingers on her left hand when she was 15 in a workshop accident at school. Two years later, Wilkie became Canada’s youngest athlete at the 2018 Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where she won a medal of every colour.