The Winter Olympics Games begin in a few weeks in South Korea and will be followed by the Paralympics.
Collin Cameron, from Sudbury, is heading to Germany to compete at a world cup Para-Nordic skiing event prior to the competition in South Korea, and his rise to the top in his sport has been pretty quick.
"Just getting the opportunity to represent Canada, against the rest of the world, travelling to these different countries, it's definitely a pretty cool experience." said Cameron.
Born with arthrogryposis, which affects the growth of ligaments and tendons in his lower extremities, Cameron took up Para-Nordic "sit skiing" just over two years ago.
“I just stumbled across a picture of a sit skier on Facebook through the Sudbury Accessible Sports Facebook page. Then one thing led to another and I messaged them and then I got connected with Patti, my coach here. Then she invited me out to try it and I totally fell in love with it." said Cameron.
Para-Nordic skiing combines the sports of cross-country skiing and biathlon for people with a physical impairment.
Despite a late start into the sport, the 29-year-old has experienced sudden success. Last year, he won gold in a sprint race at a world cup event in Peyongchang.
His coach, Patti Kitler, says he is a rare athlete and she is not surprised by how quickly he has come along.
"He's a very good learner. He understands his body and just whatever we worked on, if it didn't work, we changed it and he just accelerated." said Kitler.
Kitler adds that her student, relatively new in the sport, is just scratching the surface in terms of his talent.
Cameron is hoping for some top 10 finishes at the Paralympic games in South Korea this March and he is already looking ahead at the 2022 games in Beijing, where he expects to be in a good position to end up on the podium.
