Wide-eyed rookie to world-class: Para nordic star Wilkie ready for next step as Milano-Cortina beckons

For Natalie Wilkie, the Paralympics have been nothing short of life-changing.

Now preparing for her third Games in Milano Cortina 2026, the 25-year-old Para nordic skier reflects on how far she’s come — from a wide-eyed teenager at her first Paralympics to a multi-medallist athlete still hungry for more.

Wilkie was just 17 when she made her Paralympic debut at PyeongChang 2018, a moment she describes as overwhelming in all the best ways.

“I didn’t really know what to expect,” Wilkie told CBC Sports. “I think that was my second time out of the country, and my first international competition. There were just so many cool new things blowing my mind all the time. I remember feeling so lucky to be able to compete there.”

Heading into Milano-Cortina, where she will join hockey captain Tyler McGregor as a co-flag-bearer during the opening ceremony, Wilkie hopes to reconnect with that same sense of awe and gratitude she had as a teenager.

“I kind of want to channel a little bit of my younger self — appreciate the experience, enjoy it to the fullest,” she said. “Not just focus on the competition, but really be there for the whole experience.”

Natalie Wilkie and Tyler McGregor named as Canada's Paralympic flag-bearers

In her last two Paralympic Winter Games (2018 and 2022) the Salmon Arm, B.C., native has won seven medals — three gold, two silver and two bronze. She won the Best Paralympic Games Debut by a Female Athlete at the 2018 Canadian Paralympic Sport Awards.

Even after two Paralympic appearances and multiple medals, Wilkie’s drive hasn’t faded.

“Each medal only represents what was happening on that day,” she said. �“Conditions change, people change — you never control what’s going to happen in a race. So it doesn’t get