Mark Arendz
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 3, 1990 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island |
| Residence | Canmore, Alberta |
| Height | 193 cm (6.33 ft) |
| Weight | 75 kg (165 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Canada |
| Sport | Paralympic biathlon, Para-Nordic skiing |
| Updated on 25 June 2015. | |
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Mark Arendz (born March 3, 1990) is a Canadian biathlon and Para-Nordic Skier. He was disabled at the age of seven when his arm got caught in the blades of a grain auger. He participated in the 2010 and 2014 Winter Paralympics and won 2 medals in total.[1]
Early life
Arendzz was born on 3 March 1990 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. At the age of seven, he lost his left arm when he lost his balance putting corn into a grain auger. His arm up to his shoulder was caught in the blades and later amputated in Halifax. After the accident, he worked as a junior counselor for the War Amps organization.[1] He also went to Nicaragua with the non-profit organization SchoolBOX to help build a school for the community who had to move.[2]
Career
At his first Paralympics in Vancouver 2010, Arendz participated unsuccessfully in six races.[3]
During the 2014 Paralympics, he received silver and bronze medals for the 7.5 kilometres Standing and the 12.5 kilometres Standing respectively.[4] Arendz entered the 7.5 km standing biathlon as the defending champion. He came second in the event, seven tenths of a second behind gold medalist Vladislav Lekomtcev of Russia. Azat Karachurin, also from Russia, took bronze in the event.[3][5] The weather conditions were not good as it rained with heavy fog for the 12.5 kilometre race. Arendz finished the race in 30:24:6 while the defending world champion Azat Karachurin of Russia took gold again. Arendz became the first Canadian to win two biathlon medals at the Winter Paralympics.[3][6] After the games, his former ski club, Brookvale Nordic Ski Centre, renamed a ski trail in Brookvale, P.E.I after him, boasting this is where he trained. Arendz hopes the new ski trail will encourage more people to give biathlon and cross country skiing a try.[7]
References
- 1 2 "Mark Arendz | Canadian Paralympic Committee". Canadian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ↑ Ross, Ryan (13 May 2014). "Mark Arendz continues to inspire". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Canada’s Mark Arendz Battles To Biathlon Bronze At Paralympic Winter Games". Canadian Paralympic Committee. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ↑ "Paralympic Results & Historical Records". paralympic.org. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ↑ Hicks, Brandon (8 March 2014). "Mark Arendz takes silver in Paralympic biathlon". CBC Sports. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ↑ Brandon, Hicks (11 March 2014). "Mark Arendz wins biathlon bronze at Paralympics". CBC news. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ↑ CBC News. "Paralympian Mark Arendz honoured with ski trail". CBC. Retrieved 25 June 2015.