Collin Cameron is resting at home in Canmore, Alberta after winning a gold medal and two silvers at the 2023 World Para-Nordic Skiing Championships in Ă–stersund, Sweden.
“It was an excellent trip all around not only for myself but for the entire team,” says Cameron.
The Canadians finished third with seven gold medals, behind the Germans and Americans who both won eight. Overall, Canada took home 16 medals.
“It was an incredibly successful trip,” says Cameron, who points out that he and his teammates set a bunch of personal bests during the week-long event.
Cameron’s gold came in the para-biathlon sit-ski 7.5-kilometre sprint. It’s the first time Cameron has won a biathlon event. That on its own would make the win special. However, just five days before he was set to travel to Sweden, Cameron’s father passed away. “It all happened kind of suddenly,” he explains. Cameron went home to say goodbye. “It was a hard decision to make to still leave for Sweden for the world championships,” he continues. “I know that I was able to take the time, say my goodbyes and be with my family and kind of have that blessing from him to continue on and keep chasing my dreams.”
Cameron describes his race as “almost perfect.” He missed one of his 10 shots at the shooting range and finished more than 40 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. “I know he was there giving me a push,” says Cameron about his late father.
His race the next day was difficult for another reason: Cameron woke up with a cold.
“It turned out to be a really great day,” he says. Cameron explains that he knew if he decided to pull out of the event, it would only make him feel worse so he powered through. He ended up finishing second in the sit-ski 18-kilometre cross-country race. “That one almost feels as good as winning the race the day before,” he says.
His third medal, another silver, was in the sit-ski 10-kilometre – freestyle cross-country race.
Cameron says he and his teammates are very close. “It’s a really great team to be a part of,” he says. No matter the results, he says someone, often multiple, teammates are at the finish line cheering each other one. “I think that’s what drives our entire team to have these amazing performances,” he says.
Cameron has some time to rest before he travels to Utah later this month to prepare for the start of the 2023 International Ski and Snowboard Federation Para-Nordic World Cup. The event runs from March 1 to 8.