North Vancouver's Emily Young had a big finish to the Paralympic Games, scoring a pair of medals on the final two days of competition.
The 27-year-old cross-country skier won bronze in the women's standing 7.5-kilometre classic event on Saturday, joining her Canadian teammate Natalie Wilkie on the podium. Wilkie, a 17-year-old from Salmon Arm, took gold with a time of 22 minutes 12.2 seconds, while Young finished less than two seconds behind in 22:13.9. Neutral Paralympic Athlete Ekaterina Rumyantseva claimed silver, edging out Young by one-tenth of a second.
“I was trying and trying all week to get onto the podium. I knew this race would be my big chance,” Young said in a Canadian Paralympic Committee release. “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.”
The dynamic duo of Young and Wilkie then hit the podium again on Sunday, teaming up with Chris Klebl and Mark Arendz to win silver in the 4x2.5-km mixed relay.
This was the first trip to the Paralympic Games for Young, a former elite wrestler who switched to skiing after a training accident damaged her right arm. She competes with her arm strapped to her body. You can read more about her road to the Games here.
Canada finished the Pyeongchang Games with 28 total medals, the most ever for the country at the winter Paralympics.
