Arendz takes silver in PyeongChang

Canmore's Mark Arendz skied his way to a silver medal in the men's 7.5-kilometre standing biathlon event, his third in Paralympic biathlon, Saturday (March 10) in PyeongChang, Korea.
Arendz, 28, and a native of P.E.I., posted a time of 18:25.9 in the men's standing biathlon event, finishing 29 seconds behind France's Benjamin Daviet. Ihor Reptyuhk of Ukraine claimed bronze.
"Coming across the line I thought I had hit. I'm really happy with the day. It was an awesome race for me, but someone was just a little faster," said Arendz in a Cross-Country Canada press release.
"I grew up on a little farm in Prince Edward Island, and here I am now as a three-time Paralympic medallist. I guess I'm proof if you dream big and set your mind to something, amazing things can happen regardless of where you are from."
Arendz adds his PyeongChang silver to a silver and bronze from the 2014 Sochi Games, along with many Para-Nordic World Cup medals.
Arendz' silver medal performance came on a bright, sunny, very warm day in South Korea when shooting clean was critical.
"I wanted to come out of this race with something around my neck - that was success for me today," said Arendz. "But I also wanted to get my feet under me for the rest of the Games and set the bar.
"I got into a little trouble in my second bout (of shooting), but I was able to overcome that little adversity. It just took me a little longer than I wanted. I got out of it clean. This is an awesome start, which is important for me for the rest of the Games."
The only other Canadian men to medal in Paralympic biathlon are Brian and Robin McKeever. The brothers, with Robin guiding Brian, won a bronze in the visually impaired 7.5-kilometre sprint discipline at the 2006 Paralympics in Turin, Italy. Robin is currently the head coach of Canada's Para-Nordic squad.