Mark Arendz has yet to clutch his first gold medal in cross-country at the Para Nordic Skiing Championships but he’s getting close.
Already well-established as one of the world’s top para biathletes, Arendz added a new colour to his world championship collection, finishing with silver, 1:21.8 behind gold-medalist Benjamin Daviet of France in the 10-kilometre standing race Sunday at Otway Nordic Centre.
“There’s more confidence in my cross-country, every year it keeps getting a little better in skate and classic and it just keeps growing as I’m trying to get fitter and gain the experience I need in order to be competitive in every race that I start,” said Arendz.
“I’m getting advice from Robin (Canadian team head coach McKeever) out there and I’m gaining on the uphills but losing on the downhills so I’m got to change that up and push those downhills a bit more.”
Grygori Vovchynskyi of Ukraine (+1:30.3) claimed bronze.
Arendz won a record six medals for Canada at the 2018 Paralympics in Pyeongchang.
He dominated the 2017 world championships in biathlon with two gold and one silver medal and also picked up bronze in the cross-country 10 km race and relay.
The 28-year-old native of Hartville, P.E.I., did not enter Monday’s cross-country sprints and will save his energy for the 7.5 km biathlon sprint on Wednesday and Thursday’s individual 15 km biathlon race.
Arendz skis with just one pole, having lost part of his arm in a farming accident when he was seven. He started the championships Saturday with a bronze medal in the 12.5 km biathlon.
“I felt a little off (Saturday) but that allowed my body to kind of come around and be a little better today,” he said. “Even the first lap or two today was a little off, I thought, until I thought, halfway, I’m in this and it was about pushing the last two laps and especially the last lap, making sure I pushed everything to get to the line.”
The 2.5 km looping trail had plenty of short but challenging climbs, speedy downhill and a few tight corners that pushed the limits of the athletes and Arendz enjoyed the variety, avoiding any bottlenecks with the men’s visually impaired racers starting just ahead of the standing event.
“There’s not a straight downhill anywhere, so there is that technical aspect,” said Arendz. “I would have loved one or two big step climbs, that would have broken it up a little more. But I think it’s a fair course, it’s a tough course, and it will be tough to beat Benjamin. This course suits him really well and I’m going to need a bit more to take him on.”
Arendz is quite a bit bigger and taller than the more slightly-built Daviet and the twisty Otway course plays into the strengths of the 29-year-old Frenchman, who came in leading the world standings in biathlon and cross-country. The native of Annecy suffered a broken leg and knee injury in a moped accident which limits his range of motion.
Daviet won his second career world championship biathlon event Saturday, edging Nils-Erik Ulset of Norway and Arendz in the mid-distance race. Daviet’s countryman, visually-impaired skier Anthony Chalencon is also off to a great start in Prince George with two bronze medals.
“I’m very happy to win two gold medals, it’s a big surprise,” said Daviet. “The French team is very good with the waxing. Anthony, with two third-place medals is very strong.”
Arendz is part of an 11-athlete Canadian contingent racing in Prince George and the fans lining the course on a sunny but cool day for racing offered up reminders he’s competing in his home country.
“It’s incredible to be back on Canadian soil racing in front of everyone for these world championships,” he said. “Everywhere you hear, ‘Go Canada’ and people yelling your name and everywhere along the course there’s that little extra motivation to keep going.”
Kyle Barber of Sudbury, Ont., finished 11th (+9:27.1), competing in his first world championship.
“I’m happy with it, skiing was lot better today than it was (Saturday),” said Barber, 28, who was 10th in the biathlon. “It was colder today and the snow was a bit faster. I just focused today on my skiing technique and my arm swing because that really helps me with my forward glide. It seems like half the course is uphill and climbing so I need as much momentum forward as I can on those climbs.”
In the women’s 7.5 km standing race Sunday defending champion Natalie Wilkie of Salmon Arm finished just off the podium in fourth place. Wilkie’s adjusted time was 2:11.7 off the gold-medal pace of Vilde Nilsen of Norway. Liudmyla Liashenko of Ukraine (+10.3) won silver and Oleksandra Kokokova of Ukraine (+42.0) captured bronze.
In other Canadian results, Brittany Hudac of Prince Albert, Sask., was seventh (+2:56.7) and Emily Young of Kelowna was eighth (+3:39.3).
In the men’s 7.5 km sit-ski race, Martin Fleig of Germany edged World Cup leader Daniel Cnossen of the United States for gold. Fleig was just three seconds quicker, completing the course in 22:55.8. Taras Rad of Ukraine, who won Saturday’s biathlon, was third Sunday. Derek Zaplotinsky of Smoky Lake, Alta., was fifth (+27.1), while Ethan Hess of Pemberton ended up 12th (+5:28.0).
Collin Cameron of Sudbury, the silver–medalist in Saturday’s biathlon, was sick in bed and was forced to scratch Sunday’s race.
In the women’s sit-ski class, Oksana Masters of the U.S. won her second event in two days. Masters covered the 7.5 km course in 15:46.5, 28.7 seconds ahead of fellow American Kendall Gretsch. Birgit Skarstein of Norway (+1:04.9) won bronze.
There was some drama at the end of Sunday’s visually-impaired women’s race. Carina Edlinger of Austria had to be carried off the course when she collapsed after coming up 1.9-seconds shy of catching gold medalist Oksana Shyshova of Ukraine in the sprint for the finish line. Cara Klug of Germany (+34.6) was the bronze medalist.
In the visually-impaired men’s race, Yuri Holub of Belarus won a close duel with Dmytro Suiarko of Ukraine. Holub’s margin of victory was 2.9 seconds. Chalencon was 22.5 seconds behind Holub. Jesse Bachinsky of Kenora, Ont., and his guide Simon Lamarche of Victoria were 15th (+6:42.8).
