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 Paralympic Games at Milano Cortina, the 25-year-old Para Nordic skier reflects on how far she’s come — from a wide-eyed teenager at her first Paralympics in 2018 to a multi-medallist athlete still hungry for growth.

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 Team Canada’s flag-bearers 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.”

WATCH | Wilkie joins McGregor as Canadian flag-bearers for opening ceremony:

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

The Para nordic skier and Para hockey player are set to be Team Canada’s flag-bearers for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Games.

‘Building year upon year’

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 old, because every medal is special in itself.”

That philosophy keeps her motivated year after year, as evidenced by her 2025-26 campaign.

This season, Wilkie collected six victories on the Para biathlon World Cup circuit to capture the Crystal Globe as the overall champion in the women’s standing category for the first time in her career.

“There’s no such thing as perfection,” she explained. “Self-improvement is constant — you’re always learning, always growing. That’s what keeps it exciting. There’s always something else to strive for.”

Wilkie says she can see that progress building over time as she continues to try and perfect her craft.

“We’re building year upon year,” she said. “I can see the improvement happening, slowly but surely.”

Doors open through Para sport

Wilkie described her first Paralympic Games as transformative — not just as an athlete, but as a person.

At 15, she lost four fingers on her left hand in a school shop accident. The injury left her struggling with body image and identity.

“I didn’t want to be seen as different or disabled,” Wilkie admitted. “I absolutely disliked when people looked at my hand or asked questions. I just didn’t want that to be the first part of my identity. 

She wore a bandage on her hand, to feel less self-conscious about it. “It was kind of like my security blanket,” remembers Wilkie.

That all began to change in PyeongChang.

“Getting to the Games and seeing everyone’s disabilities on display — everyone was there because of their impairment,” she said. “It made me realize how many doors had opened for me because of Para sport.”

In that environment, surrounded by athletes who owned their identities, Wilkie began to see herself differently.

“At first, I’d still walk around with my hand in my pocket, too nervous to have it out,” she said. “Seeing it so normalized, kind of helped me become more comfortable with my own disability. 

“It was so normal there — people had prosthetic legs, people were in wheelchairs. There was no hiding disability. Everyone was proud of who they were, and that helped me start to feel the same,” Wilkie said.

Unwavering aspirations

Wilkie’s skiing journey began long before her accident. Growing up beside a ski hill in B.C., she says skiing was simply part of everyday life.

“I started skiing probably as soon as I could walk,” Wilkie said. “My mom was like, ‘OK, you kids have too much energy — let’s go skiing and burn it off.’”

Wilkie, centre, stands atop the podium during a ceremony for the women’s sprint free technique standing final of Para cross-country skiing at the 2022 Winter Paralympics. (Shuji Kajiyama/The Associated Press)

Both of Wilkie’s sisters share her love for the sport. Her sister, Isabelle, says skiing was always accessible to their family and played a major role in shaping who they became. 

“When you grow up with a sport, it impacts who you are as a person — it teaches you a lot of life skills,” Isabelle said. “For us, we loved being able to excel at a sport that made us feel good about ourselves.”

Despite some youthful annoyance over her sister’s newfound celebrity following the PyeongChang Paralympics, Isabelle remembers lighting up when she saw Wilkie back on the ski hill.

“It was so nice to see her do this again and excel at it,” Isabelle recalled.

Wilkie has faced countless obstacles in pursuing the sport she loves, but none were enough to deter her from chasing competition at the highest level.

“I broke my leg when I was 12 and spent two months in a wheelchair,” she said. “Then, a few years later, I had the shop accident. I remember thinking, this totally crushed my Olympic dreams. One of the first thoughts I had was, “How am I going to grip my pole?’”

At the time, Wilkie didn’t even know Para sport existed. Discovering it, however, reignited her competitive fire and gave her a new path forward.

Now, years later, Wilkie has found confidence not in hiding her disability, but in embracing it—and the community that comes with it. 

As she looks ahead to Milano Cortina 2026, Wilkie carries the same blend of gratitude and hunger that has defined her journey so far—the joy of her 17-year-old self, paired with the drive of a world-class competitor.