Canada's Natalie Wilkie, left, found her first Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang in 2018 to be a gateway to community. She's since won seven Paralympic medals, including three gold.Matthias Schrader/The Associated Press
When Natalie Wilkie’s name was called to confirm her spot on Canada’s Paralympic team, the thrill felt both familiar and entirely new, but no less electric for the para nordic skier. Four years of work had led back to this moment.
Yet, as Wilkie stood among her teammates preparing for another Winter Games, a realization settled in.
“They described me as a veteran,” the 25-year-old Wilkie told the Globe and Mail, laughing as she recalled the moment. “It kind of hit me, ‘Oh, I am a veteran.’ This is my third Paralympics, and I know not everyone gets that opportunity.”
On Friday, Wilkie had another eye-opening moment when she was named one of Canada’s flag bearers for the Milan Cortina Paralympics. Hockey captain Tyler McGregor was selected alongside her.
“I am incredibly honoured to, one, have been nominated, and two, be chosen,” Wilkie told reporters on Friday.
Natalie Wilkie, Tyler McGregor to be Canada's flag-bearers at Winter Paralympics
Her veteran perspective, and this latest honour, didn’t come easily.
The three-time gold medalist has an acquired disability after a wood shop accident, which caused her to lose four fingers on one hand when she was 15. The experience was traumatic for her and very difficult to comprehend. It was the source of body image issues, low confidence and anxiety.
For almost a year-and-a-half after her accident, Wilkie wore a bandage, not because she needed to, but because she hated the way her arm looked. At the Paralympics, she had a different realization.
“The Paralympics were a silver lining because it was something good that happened to me because of my disability, not despite it,” she said.
Canada's Para ice hockey captain Tyler McGregor of Forest, Ont. and Para nordic skiing star Natalie Wilkie of Salmon Arm, B.C., are shown in an undated handout image. The duo have been selected as Canada's opening ceremony flag bearers for the Milan Cortina Paralympic Winter Games.HO/The Canadian Press
When Wilkie arrived at her first Paralympics at 17, she wasn’t thinking about medals. Still in high school and training with her hometown club team, she had no podium expectations but rather a curiosity to experience being around the best athletes from around the world, and exploring the Paralympic village.
“I was very wide-eyed, didn’t really know what I was doing, didn’t realize the importance of going to the Games and winning medals and how big that actually was,” said Wilkie.
What surprised her most was the sense of belonging.
“It was really freeing to be able to go to the Paralympics and kind of realize that everyone around me is also here because of their disabilities,” Wilkie said. “Everyone around me also had an injury or disability of some sort. I felt more accepted. I found my community in a way.”
Heading into the Milan Cortina Games, Wilkie finds herself in a leadership role on a Canadian team that blends experienced veterans with a wave of hungry rookies. Eight of the 15 Paralympians from the nordic team are making their first trip to the Games.
“I’m in a position to lead the team because I do have those experiences,” said Wilkie. “But having those fresh faces brings so much excitement. I remember what it felt like to see everything for the first time.”
Leadership shows up in small but important ways, like going for recovery runs, acting professionally, and making sure no one loses their passport. Wilkie knows how important this guidance is. In her first two Olympic Games, Paralympian Emily Young was the ‘team mom’, always leading by example and setting a blueprint for the rest to follow.
Wilkie has gone through the preparation phase multiple times, and the last 12 months have been focused on peaking during the Games. There have been two World Cup periods the Canadian has competed in, neither of which she won gold in. However, that is part of building up both physical and mental fitness before the biggest competitions begin.
“Peaking means that your body is at the best of its ability at that time, and making sure you’re in your best form for a specific event,” said Wilkie. “A peak doesn’t last forever, and there’s always this massive drop off where you just feel absolutely terrible afterward.”
Wilkie celebrates a gold medal win in the women's sprint free technique standing final at the 2022 Winter Paralympics.ALEXANDER HASSENSTEIN GETTY IMAGES/Getty Images
A big part of training camp for Wilkie is doing things outside of sports, which at times has been challenging with friends also being teammates. Luckily, she grew up on a farm in Salmon Arm, B.C. and continues to have a passion for riding horses and caring for animals.
“I live in Canmore [Alta.] now, and it’s a couple of hours away from where I grew up,” she said. “But I make a point of going out to visit my family a couple of times a year. And that’s kind of where I try to decompress from the ski world.”
Wilkie is the reigning 2025 Para biathlon World Championships leader in multiple events, but it’s not something she ever anticipated herself competing in, mainly because shooting was not a sport she thought she would take up.
Biathlon is unique in the fact that it combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Missing shots results in completing a penalty lap or taking on a time penalty. Hitting the shooting targets is a challenge as athletes have to control their heart rate, breathing patterns and get into a comfortable position holding the rifle.
“You could be having a great race and skiing super well, as well as hitting most of your targets, and then you miss one or something, and then suddenly everything’s different,” said Wilkie. “It’s never over until it’s over.”
The secret to pulling through a gruelling Olympic biathlon? Breathe
Thanks to friends inviting her to the shooting range, Wilkie filled up her summer time learning the art of rifles.
“The learning curve was steep, because shooting at like zero heart rate is different from shooting at a race pace heart rate,” Wilkie said. “I feel like the learning curve for biathlon is huge.”
Now, Wilkie is proud to represent both cross-country skiing and biathlon and hopes the exciting nature of the sport draws more eyes to the Games.
“Disability coverage and representation are really important for young people,” Wilkie said. “When I had my accident, I had no idea what the Paralympics even were, which I’m kind of embarrassed to admit now. It’s just like the Olympics.”