Mission 200, complete.
Alpine skier Michaela Gosselin placed third in the women’s slalom standing category on Day 8 of the Milano-Cortina Paralympics on Saturday.
The 25-year-old from Collingwood, Ont., posted a total time of one minute, 29.19 seconds to secure her first Paralympic podium.
“I’m so excited. Saved the best for last. It’s been a challenging Games, but I think that all is in the past now, and I’m so happy to have a medal,” Gosselin said.
“It really means everything to me. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet.”
The result etched Gosselin’s name in Canadian sports lore, as her bronze victory is Canada’s 200th all-time Winter Paralympics medal.
Canada becomes the sixth country to eclipse the mark after Austria, Norway, the United States, Russia/Soviet Union and Germany.
Gosselin after winning slalom standing bronze medal, her 1st Paralympic medal, ‘I’m just in shock’
In her second Paralympics, Gosselin had competed in four events prior to the slalom, mustering top-10 finishes in each before finding her breakthrough on Saturday.
“I really just tried to take a day [at a] time and just let it go and just focus on today. I gave it everything I had and it was enough today,” Gosselin said.
“It’s been a lot to do five events. It’s tiring, mentally and physically challenging. But I got through it, and I’m so happy.”
Russia’s Varvara Voronchikhina won gold, while Wenjing Zhu of China took silver.
Gosselin was in third with a final skier to go in Run 2 — heavily favoured Ebba Aarsjoe of Sweden.
Aarsjoe, who’s won three gold medals and a bronze at the Milano-Cortina Games, set the best time in Run 1 (40.89), but stumbled in the latter stages of her run, resulting in a DNF that bumped her from contention.
“Today was an amazing race. I know in slalom Ebba Aarsjoe is hard to beat … but it’s slalom and things happen,” Voronchikhina said afterward.
At her debut Games in 2022, Gosselin placed fourth in the event which Aarsjoe won.
“I think I was quite disappointed when I crossed the finish line. It felt like déjà vu from Beijing, coming fourth, and it’s tough. That’s not a position you want to be in. But it ended up being OK,” Gosselin said.
Shortly after Beijing, Gosselin suffered a knee injury at a World Cup competition, tearing her ACL, MCL, and fracturing her tibial plateau.
The injury sidelined her from competition until March of last 2024.
“I’m still dealing with some issues from it, but overall I think it taught me a lot of resilience. Having a challenge like that, as hard as it is, really makes you appreciate all the good days and feeling healthy a lot more,” Gosselin said.
“As much as injuries suck, unfortunately they’re part of this, the game of sport, and you have to take it as a learning opportunity and just a chance to get stronger mentally and physically.”
