Paralympic skier Natalie Wilkie of Salmon Arm has earned herself a bronze medal in the Women’s 1.5km Sprint Classic, Standing event, coming in just shy of the silver medal.
She has participated in two days of events at the 2018 Paralympics in Pyeongchang, competing in the 15km Free, Standing event and the 1.5km Sprint Classic, Standing race.
After placing sixth in the 15km event on March 12, and only 1:04 away from a podium time, Wilkie was off to the 1.5km sprint the morning of March 14. She made it through the qualifying race and semifinals to get a shot at the podium in the final heat of the sprints.
The finals were a tightly contested race, with only 3.2 seconds separating the top three finishers. At the close of the 1.5km event Natalie Wilkie finished with a time of 5:14.3, just 0.1 seconds behind the second place finisher Vilde Nilsen of Norway, earning her chance to take the podium and be awarded a bronze medal for her performance.
Wilkie’s teammates Emily Young and Brittany Hudak of Team Canada also raced in the finals for the 1.5km race, placing fourth and sixth respectively.
Wilkie lost most of the fingers on her left hand through an accident in wood shop class in 2016, but that hasn’t stopped her from competing in cross country skiing events, both standard and para, at a national level.
Related: Natalie Wilkie bounces back after injury
Wilkie has two events left to compete in at the Paralympics, the 7.5km Classic, Standing race and the 4.25km Mixed Relay race. The 7.5km event can be watched live March 16 at 7:45 p.m. PST while the relay race will air March 17 in two separate heats, the first at 6 p.m. and the second at 7 p.m. PST.
The public is invited to a viewing party in Salmon Arm to watch Paralympian Natalie Wilkie ski in the 7.5 km Classic Women’s Standing cross-country ski race.
It will be streamed live this Friday, March 16 at the SASCU Recreation Centre auditorium. Doors open at 7:15 p.m., with the race scheduled for 7:45 p.m.
At Friday’s viewing party, red and white clothing, and “Go Natalie Go” signs are encouraged.
Donations to the food bank will be happily accepted.
Residents can continue to send good wishes to Natalie here: bestwishesnatalie@gmail.com
To volunteer to help, or for more information, contact Jennifer Henrie by email at mjhenrie@gmail.com.
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