Kurt Oatway, the 2018 Paralympic gold medal winner who trained in Saskatchewan, has just medalled again, taking bronze in men’s downhill sit-skiing.
Oatway began his para alpine skiing journey at Mission Ridge Ski Hill in Fort Qu’Appelle in March 2010. Four years later, he was competing at the Paralympics in Sochi. Now, more than a decade later, he continues to be a dominant force on the mountain.
One of his fans watching from home as he took the medal was Gordon Poulton, Oatway’s first coach and head of the adaptive skiing program at Mission Ridge.
“I’m proud of him, he’s worked really, really hard to get to where he’s at and he’s had a lot of dedication,” said Poulton.
“Any athlete needs that support from family and friends to make it happen and encourage them to foster that dream and make it possible. Between his parents and his brother and the whole ski community … it’s very great to see him excel.”
Oatway was attending the University of Saskatchewan when he decided to try sit-skiing with Poulton, which turned into five years of training under him. Poulton said his skill was undeniable from the jump.
“It’s such a mind game, ski racing is all about being on a very fine edge of a total disaster or total victory,” said Poulton. “It was pretty obvious that he had a lot of determination and a lot of skill that would lead him to higher levels of skiing.”
Oatway missed out on the 2022 Games in Beijing due to a severe injury he sustained just a month before at the world championships in Lillehammer. A devastating crash resulted in Oatway dealing with three broken ribs in five places, a broken collarbone, two torn ligaments, and a punctured lung.
“It’s so tough to come back after a crushing loss or mistake, and he did that,” said Poulton. “Hopefully this year he’s riding a wave and moves right into a gold medal place on [super grand slalom].”
Alongside Oatway on the podium, Norwegian Jesper Pederson took gold, and Dutch skier Niels de Langen claimed the silver.
On Monday, Oatway will represent Canada in the super grand slalom, the competition he won eight years ago. Poulton says the 42-year-old athlete is still toying with the idea of competing again in another four years.
