Canadian Para cross-country skier Natalie Wilkie wins mass start gold at World Cup season opener | CBC Sports

Para cross-country skier Natalie Wilkie put a bow on 2024 with a World Cup victory on Friday at the season-opening stop in Vuokatti, Finland.

The 23-year-old from Salmon Arm, B.C., won the 10-kilometre mass start race in the women’s standing category, finishing eight seconds ahead of Norway’s Vilde Nilsen with a time of 32 minutes 44.8 seconds.

Fellow Canadian Paralympian Brittany Hudak (34:28.3) missed the podium by one spot behind China’s Zhao Zhiqing after a sprint finish.

Wilkie, a seven-time Paralympic medallist, is off to a strong start in both the cross-country and biathlon disciplines. She took home silver in the sprint classic on Tuesday behind Nilsen, along with two biathlon gold medals to open the season in Vuokatti.

Mark Arendz of Hartsville, P.E.I., captured his fifth overall medal in Vuokatti with bronze in the men’s standing mass start, crossing the finish in 31:34.5. It was a 1-2 Chinese finish with Wang Chenyang claiming gold ahead of countrymate Liu Xiaobin in 29:55.2.

The 34-year-old Arendz, who also finished third in Tuesday’s sprint classic, leads the overall World Cup rankings in his category with 273 points — 18 points ahead of Wang.

The cross-country World Cup season resumes Feb. 1-2 in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

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