Canada's Para alpine athletes hunt for medals in Beijing after a season away from racing

When Canada's Para alpine athletes hit the Yanqing National Alpine Centre slopes, they will have medals on their minds.

After reaching the podium 10 times at PyeongChang 2018, expectations are high for one of Para alpine's most prominent nations.

Team Canada has 11 athletes at the Beijing 2022 Paralympics, including returning medallists Mollie Jepsen, Mac Marcoux, Alana Ramsay and Alexis Guimond.

Jepsen and Marcoux may not be old, but they lead a confident group of Canadians when it comes to racing against the world's best. At just 18 years old, Jepsen captured four medals in the women's standing events at her first Paralympic Games in 2018, while Marcoux, a visually impaired skier, won five across 2014 and 2018.

This season has been special for the Canadian team as it returned to racing following a 2020-21 campaign focused fully on training, with stops in Switzerland and resorts across British Columbia.

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Mollie Jepsen is no longer under the Paralympic radar

3 years ago

Duration 4:15

Canadian para alpine skier Mollie Jepsen went to her first Paralympics as relatively unknown, but is heading to her second Games as one to beat. She talks to CBC Sports about how that affects her strategy.

"We did just a ton of repetitions at the end of the day, and the teams were skiing really well," Matt Hallat, Alpine Canada High Performance Director of Para alpine, told CBC Sports about last season. "The challenge was that there was no yardstick to tell where we're at in comparison to our competition."

While the season off from racing did not help to gain a competitive edge, it allowed athletes to adjust to some newer situations. Marcoux paired with a new guide (Tristan Rodgers), while other athletes — such as Michaela Gosselin, Logan Leach and Brian Rowland — marked their first international experiences.

Now heading to the biggest races of many athletes' careers, Team Canada is prepared to take on the world's biggest stage, coming off a five-medal performance at the World Para Snow Sports Championships in Lillehammer this February.

Jepsen, who won three medals at the world championships, will be a Canadian medal favourite in Beijing — along with Marcoux, who missed the Lillehammer event.

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"They're a bit more mature as people. ... I think athletically maybe even more so than they were in the past," Hallat said of the Canadian team, specifically referencing Jepsen and Marcoux.

"I think they're well prepared for what they're going into and excited to get racing again."

Joining the two are Alexis Guimond and Alana Ramsay, who both skied to the podium at PyeongChang 2018. 

Paralympic debutantes

While the Canadian team boasts previous medallists, the Paralympic debutantes could also ski their way to the podium.

Gosselin races in the women's standing category, while Katie Combaluzier and Brian Rowland compete in their respective sitting categories. Leach, 19, is the youngest team member, skiing with guide Julien Pettit.

Gosselin captured her first Para alpine medal by winning bronze in the standing slalom at world championships, while Combaluzier also reached the podium three times at the Lillehammer races.

Leach won silver at the 2019 Canada Games and will seek a similar result alongside Pettit at Beijing 2022.

Without any international racing experience, Rowland heads to China as Canada's lone athlete in the men's sitting category after veteran Kurt Oatway sustained an injury forcing him to miss the Games despite meeting qualification criteria.

The Para alpine events begin Friday at 9 p.m. ET, with men's downhill streaming live on CBC Gem, the CBC Sports app and CBC Sports' website.