By Canadian Press

Arendz’s gold tops three-medal day for Canada at Para-Nordic World Cup in Finland

Dec 16, 2022 | 11:23 AM

VUOKATTI, Finland — Canada’s Mark Arendz recovered from a difficult start on the shooting range to win his second straight biathlon gold medal on Friday at the Para-Nordic World Cup 

Arendz’s gold in the men’s 10-kilometre standing event was one of three Canadian medals in different biathlon disciplines.

Britany Hudak of Prince Albert, Sask., earned silver in the women’s 10-kilometre standing event and Christina Picton of Fonthill, Ont., took second in the women’s sit-ski competition.

Missing three out of his first 10 shots on the range, the 32-year-old Arendz from Hartstville, P.E.I., calmed things down in the back half of the race to take top spot on the 10-kilometre biathlon podium in the standing classification with a time of 28 minutes 30.4 seconds.

Shooting clean in his final 10 shots and skiing fast, Arendz held off the field in his five laps around the Vuokatti Nordic venue. 

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Ukraine’s Grygorii Vovchynskyi skied to silver in 28:42.4 (2+0+0+0). France’s Benjamin Daviet clocked a time of 29:36.8 (1+0+1+1).

Hudak earned her third straight silver medal, and second in biathlon, in the women’s 10-kilometre standing competition.

Hudak missed just one of her 20 shots. The experienced three-time Paralympian skied steady to post a time of 32:05.2 (0+1+0+0).

Ukraine’s Liudmyla Liashenko held onto the gold medal despite missing three shots, skiing to a time of 31:51.6 (1+1+1+0). Bohdana Konashuk, also from Ukraine, finished with a time of 33:47.7 (1+1+1+2).

Picton grabbed her fourth medal of the World Cup opener, posting a second-place time of 43:29.2 in the women’s sit-ski competition. She was forced to ski a 100-metre penalty loop twice for two missed shots in her four stops at the range.

Germany’s Anja Wicker won gold in a time of 36:58.4 (2+1+0+2). Korea’s Yunji Kim was third at 43:38.6 (2+0+0+1).

A missed shot in his final round of shooting cost Derek Zaplotinsky, of Smoky Lake, Alta., a spot on the men’s sit-ski podium. The 37-year-old skied to a time of 34:59.0 (0+0+0+1).

Kazakhstan’s Yerbol Khamitov won the gold with a time of 32:37.0 (2+0+0+0). Ukraine’s Taras Rad was second at 33:41.6 (0+1+1+0), while his teammate Oleksandr Aleksyk topped Zaplotinsky for the bronze medal, posting a time of 34:59.0.

The opening Para-Nordic World Cup stop of the season continues on Saturday with the team sprint event.
 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2022.

The Canadian Press