- Brian McKeever wins third gold
medal in PyeongChang
- Natalie Wilkie claims gold and
Emily Young bronze in 7.5KM
cross-country
- Mark Arendz captures fifth medal
of these Games, will be flag bearer for Closing Ceremony
- Wheelchair curling team takes home bronze medal
- Canada now has claimed its
most medals ever at a Paralympic Winter Games
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea,
March 17, 2018 /CNW/ - Canada
has now officially won its most medals ever at a Paralympic Winter
Games as the nation's medal total hit 24 at the PyeongChang 2018
Paralympic Winter Games on Saturday. This total blasts past the
Canadian Paralympic Team's previous best of 19 medals won at
Vancouver 2010.
MEDAL CHART:
Gold –
8
|
Silver –
1
|
Bronze –
15
|
TOTAL –
24
|
TOP HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY:
- Brian McKeever (Canmore, AB) now has three gold medals in
PyeongChang, winning the 10KM cross-country race with guides
Graham Nishikawa (Whitehorse, YK) and Russell Kennedy (Canmore, AB) in the men's visually impaired
category. McKeever has claimed gold in all three distances this
week to add to his legacy as one of the greatest Winter
Paralympians of all-time. He now has 13 gold medals, two silver,
and one bronze for a total of 16 across five Paralympic Games.
"This feels good. That one was hard today and was a lot closer
than the others. Today was all about teamwork. There was a huge
temperature change so we were out very early as a team testing new
skis with our wax techs for 90 minutes before the race even
started. It was a huge effort by everyone today." – Brian McKeever
- The youngest athlete on the Canadian Paralympic Team,
Natalie Wilkie (Salmon Arm, BC), captured her second medal of
these Games with a gold medal in the women's standing 7.5KM
cross-country race. This pairs with her bronze medal claimed in the
1.5KM sprint earlier in the week. Wilkie is just 17 years and two
months old, competing in her first Games.
"This is crazy awesome. I didn't think this would happen at all.
I'm only 17 and this is my first Paralympics."
"The difference today was double poling. I just kept telling myself
to pretend I was elbowing my older brother." – Natalie Wilkie
- Emily Young (North Vancouver, BC) joined Wilkie on the
7.5KM cross-country podium, winning bronze for her first-ever
Paralympic medal. This marked Canada's second double podium in PyeongChang,
after a 1-3 finish (Mollie Jepsen
and Alana Ramsay) in the women's
Para alpine super combined earlier this week.
"I was trying and trying all week to get onto the podium. I knew
this race would be my big chance. I kept telling myself to get this
done. There is nothing left in the tank. I didn't want any more
hills. I just wanted to get over the finish line. I left it all out
there today." – Emily
Young
- Mark Arendz (Hartsville, PEI) added to his robust medal
total in PyeongChang with another medal – bronze in the men's 10KM
cross-country run. The 28-year-old now has a remarkable fifth medal
at these Paralympic Games – one gold, one silver, and three bronze
– the most of any Canadian here.
"I woke up and felt ready to go. I was racing with a lot of
excitement today. I was ready for this race. I knew the competition
was going to be tough. We were all capable of winning today, but
the key for pulling out the bronze was the skis. We had such good
speed on the downhills that carried us to the finish today. The
work our wax techs are doing is making the difference." –
Mark Arendz
- The Canadian wheelchair curling team will be going home with a
bronze medal thanks to a 5-3 victory over South Korea on Saturday. Skip Mark Ideson (London, ON), Ina
Forrest (Armstrong, BC),
Dennis Thiessen (Sanford, MB), and Marie Wright (Moose
Jaw, SK) never trailed in the game, opening to a 2-0 lead in
the first end. Canada has now
won a medal in each Paralympic Games since wheelchair curling
debuted in 2006 – three golds and one bronze. For Forrest, it is
her third Paralympic medal, and the second for Ideson and Thiessen.
This was the first Paralympic Games for Wright and alternate James
Annseuw (Oak Bluff, MB).
"I'm super proud. We put ourselves in a position to defend gold,
and we played our hearts out yesterday. It didn't go our way, but
we came out today and we played for each other, and we played for
Canada and we're coming home with
a medal." – Mark Ideson
- In Para alpine skiing, the Canadian team's best finish was
fourth place courtesy of Mac Marcoux
(Sault Ste-Marie, ON) and guide
Jack Leitch (Calgary, AB) in the men's slalom race.
Alex Cairns (Squamish, BC) was the only other Canadian to
finish the course, and he ended with a Top 10 finish in his second
Paralympic race. The women will race the slalom on Sunday.
For more details on the day's results in each sport:
Para alpine
Para nordic
Wheelchair
curling
For the complete Canadian Paralympic Team results for
Saturday March 17, please click
here.
MEDIA RESOURCES
- To access athlete bios and the complete Canadian Paralympic
Team list, please click here.
- Photos are available at photos.paralympic.ca (sign up for an
account) and at Dropbox. Photos are free for editorial use and
credit Canadian Paralympic Committee.
- To access video highlights, please send an inquiry to
Nicole Watts at
nwatts@paralympic.ca.
About the Canadian Paralympic Team in PyeongChang:
Canada is represented by 55
athletes in all five sports at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic
Winter Games, taking place March
9-18. #greatnessisrare
About the Canadian Paralympic Committee:
Paralympic.ca
For athlete inquiries, please contact the media attachés:
Media Attachés by Sport
SOURCE Canadian Paralympic Committee (Sponsorships)