It was a golden weekend for Bracebridge’s Collin Cameron at the 2023 Para-Nordic World Championships in Österland, Sweden.
He won a gold medal in the men’s sit-skiing event. It’s his first World Championship biathlon medal. He finished with a time of 24:10.0 after missing only one of his 10 shots on the range. Every time a sit-skier misses a shot, they are forced to do one lap of the 100-metre penalty loop.
Cameron finished more than 40 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
“It is such a great feeling to get my first biathlon win and to have it here at Worlds is amazing,” said Cameron.
Cameron dedicated the win to his late father who passed away just before the start of the competition.
“It has been a really tough start to the year with the sudden passing of my father and flying home last minute for a couple of days before coming to Sweden,” said Cameron. “(Saturday’s) race will always be a special one for me and I’m proud I was able to get a win here for my Dad.”
Cameron also won a silver medal in the cross-country classic 18-kilometre event on Saturday. Kate Boyd, high-performance director for Nordiq Canada, tweeted that competitors battled a “frosty day” in Sweden the morning of the race.
On top of the chilly day, the 34-year-old woke up with a cold the day of his race.
“It was a tough one today,” said Cameron. According to Nordiq Canada, he considered pulling out of the race but toughed it out. “I opted to just go for the race and see what happens instead of not starting and risk getting sick anyways. I’m really happy with how I was able to manage my energy for such a long race in really cold conditions and get on the podium again.”
By the time the World Championship finishes on Sunday, Cameron may need to invest in a larger trophy cabinet. He won three bronze medals at the 2018 Winter Paralympics and another three in the 2022 edition of the Winter Games. Cameron also won a gold and two silver at the 2019 Para-Nordic World Championships and a gold at the 2017 Para-Noric World Cup.