Fresh off a first-place finish Sunday, 22-year-old Natalie Wilkie of Canada said she enjoyed the Soldier Hollow biathlon course, although it wasn’t easy.
“I really liked this course. It's hard skiing at this high of an altitude,” Wilkie said. “Today, it was awesome. I struggled a bit in yesterday’s biathlon individual. My shooting speed was pretty slow, and that definitely showed and the results, but I didn't miss today. I shot clean, so that was pretty awesome.”
Wilkie was one of dozens of athletes from 17 countries in town for the International Ski Federation [FIS] Para Nordic World Cup March 1 through 8.
She’ll head back home Wednesday in time for Canadian Nationals after nearly two weeks in Utah, including early training days. This season, she’s also competed in Finland, Sweden and her own country.
Wilkie was among many who raced with one ski pole in the standing biathlon event Sunday. It was one of six daily races, including the sitting, visually impaired and standing competitions.
After a training day Monday, races pick back up Tuesday with a biathlon, then a 20K classic on Wednesday.
As the World Cup, it’s the final international competition of the season. Soldier Hollow Events Manager Josh Korn said for him and his colleagues and volunteers, it’s an honor to play host.
“It's such a great, great look for our community,” Korn said. “Having these individuals seek us out, whether it's the [International Biathlon Union] or FIS or all these national sanctioning bodies looking to Soldier Hollow as a venue in the U.S. that is not only capable of handling these events, but we're really well staffed, and we can really excel at a high level.”
Admission is free to spectators for all events. It’s happening at 2002 Soldier Hollow Lane in Midway.
More information is available at utaholympiclegacy.org.
