By The Canadian Press

Eriksson, Oatway, Wilkie earn Canada’s first three medals of Paralympic Games

Mar 7, 2026 | 9:17 AM

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO — Kalle Eriksson, alongside guide Sierra Smith, got the ball rolling for Canada with its first of three medals at the Milan Cortina Paralympic Games on Saturday.

Eriksson, a para alpine skier from Kimberley, B.C., grabbed silver in the men’s visually impaired downhill event in his Paralympic debut.

He clocked in a time of one minute 18.33 seconds, finishing behind Austria’s Johannes Aigner (1:16.08) and narrowly ahead of Italy’s Giacomo Bertagnolli (1:18.64) on the podium.

“Both me and Sierra are on top of the world right now and still pumping,” Eriksson said. “I can’t believe our run and I’m so proud of how we did it.”

“It definitely wasn’t perfect but we hit the points we wanted to, and we skied very strong,” Smith said. “We had a good run overall, obviously always room to improve. I’m super happy with our performance today.”

Grand Opening

Wholesale warehouse store marks successful grand opening in Chilliwack Saturday

1h ago

Organizational Chaos

Hundreds sign petition calling on remaining Chilliwack Animal Safe Haven execs to resign

2h ago

Community Round-Up

Drunk driver rear-ends SUV on section of Lougheed Hwy in Mission

3h ago

Calgary’s Kurt Oatway made it two medals for Canada when he earned bronze in the men’s downhill sitting ski event.

The 42-year-old narrowly missed silver, finishing the race in 1:19.42. Niels de Langen of the Netherlands placed second in 1:19.24. Norway’s Jesper Pederson was victorious in 1:18.14.

It was quite the return for Oatway, who missed the 2022 Beijing Games due to a broken collarbone, two torn ligaments, three broken ribs in five places, and a punctured lung from a crash a month out from those Paralympics at world championships. This was following his Paralympic debut in 2018 where he won gold in the super-G event.

“The road to coming back was long, but here I am, and I’ve got a piece of hardware to show for it,” Oatway said. “If I keep winning stuff, who knows? Maybe I’ll make another (Paralympic) cycle.”

Para nordic star Natalie Wilkie, of Salmon Arm, B.C., collected her eighth medal at her third Paralympics with a silver in the women’s standing sprint biathlon event.

Wilkie had a time of 18:46.4 over the 7.5-kilometre course and went without a shooting penalty in her first career biathlon medal at the Games. Her previous seven medals primarily came in individual and relay cross-country events.

Ukraine’s Oleksandra Kononova (18:41.5) and Liudmyla Liashenko (19:13.9) won gold and bronze, respectively.

“It doesn’t feel real. This was a big goal of mine heading into the Games, to win a medal in biathlon, and to do it on the first day is so special,” Wilkie said.

“It’s the biathlon I struggle with,” she added. “Compared to my competitors, I’m quite a slow shooter and so the time I make up is out on the course. I know I’m a pretty fast skier and today I felt really good. I was able to utilize that on the course.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2026.

The Canadian Press