Prince Albert’s Brittany Hudak was named one of five co-captains for the Milano Cortina 2026 Canadian Paralympic Ski Team.
Hudak is set to make her fourth Paralympic Games appearance. She took home bronze in the 15 km cross country and 12.5 km biathlon at the 2022 Paralympic Games in Beijing.
“I feel very honoured to be named to my fourth Paralympic team,” Hudak said in a press release. “The thought of representing Canada still gives me chills. It’s such a privilege to compete for Canada on the world stage and I want to hone in on all of that energy for these upcoming Games.”
Hudak is one of 15 Paralympic Nordic Skiers who will represent Canada in Italy. The skiing portion of the competition begins on March 7 with the Individual 12.5 km Para Biathlon and ends on March 15 with the Para Cross-Country Middle Distance.
All events will take place at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium located in the Val di Fiemme region of Italy.
Canada’s Para Nordic Skiing team was Canada’s most successful team at the last two Paralympics. The group brought home 16 medals at the 2018 games, followed by 14 more in 2022.
Hudak expects to see another strong performance from Canadian skiers in 2026.
“The team has had an amazing season so far with podiums and personal bests,” she said. “I think this really showcases the strength of the team and our ability to perform under pressure and on demand.”
Hudak enters the competition following a bronze medal showing at the second stop on the Para Biathlon World Cup circuit in Notschrei, Germany. She hit 19 of 20 targets and finished third in the Standing Women 12.5 KM Individual competition with a time of 40:52.3. That was Hudak’s second bronze of the World Cup season.
Canada’s Para Nordic Ski squad is led by Mark Arendz. The Hartsville, PEI product is headed to his fifth Paralympic Games, and is one of Canada’s most successful Para athletes of all time.
“The past four years have been a journey toward this moment, and I’m incredibly proud to be named to my fifth Paralympic Winter Games team,” Arendz said in a press release. “I began this quad taking four months away from competition to recover from surgery and reset, always with the goal of returning to the Paralympics.
“There was a hunger left after Beijing, and now I have the opportunity to put everything together once again and see what I’m capable of. I believe I can put myself in a position to contend for multiple medals in 2026.”
