SportsParalympics

This B.C. athlete is carrying Canada at the Paralympics

Trevor Beggs
Trevor Beggs
|
Mar 14 2026, 6:21 pm
This B.C. athlete is carrying Canada at the Paralympics
Canadian Paralympic Committee

Natalie Wilkie has long been a star for Canada at the Paralympics.

That’s been the case ever since she became the youngest Paralympic athlete for Canada as a 17-year-old in 2018.

However, she cemented herself as one of the most legendary athletes in Canadian Paralympic history in 2026.

The Salmon Arm, B.C. native has now captured four medals at the Milano Cortina Paralympics, giving her the most podium finishes by any Canadian athlete at these games.

Wilkie had Canada’s only two medals at these Paralympics before Canada’s curling victory over China on Saturday morning. She’s also added a bronze and a silver earlier in the games.

Not only has she won nearly a third of Canada’s 13 medals at the 2026 Paralympics so far, but the dual cross-country skiing and biathlon competitor put herself among the most decorated female Canadian Para Athletes ever at the Winter Games.

Wilkie’s 11 medals are just two behind Lana Spreeman for the most in Canadian history.

She also ranks third in Canadian history with four gold medals at the Paralympics, trailing only Lauren Woolstencroft and Brian McKeever.

“I’m kind of on top of the world right now,” Wilkie said on Friday after winning her fourth medal of the games. ”

Wilkie won the 12.5-kilometre individual biathlon event on Friday, and she described it as her most surprising medal of the games.

“This is the medal that I never expected to get, and to have it around my neck right now is pretty special,” she said.

The 25-year-old began cross-country skiing at a young age while growing up in Salmon Arm. At the age of 14, she lost four fingers on her left hand due to a woodworking accident in high school.

She wasn’t to be deterred, as two weeks later, she was back training with her local ski club.

Now, she’s on the verge of rewriting the history books.

Wilkie was part of a Canadian team that finished fifth in the Cross-Country Skiing Mixed 4×2.5km Relay on Saturday. She has one more chance to win a medal as she competes in the Cross-Country Skiing Women’s 20km Interval Start Free Standing on Sunday morning.

Another medal win would tie her with Woolstencroft for the most medals collected by any woman at a single Paralympic Games in Canadian history.

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