Paralympic Games a good experience, training ground for Fergus athlete
Madison Mullin pleased with performance, ready to improve for next Games
FERGUS – She didn’t win any medals, but Fergus’ Madison Mullin still returned from the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games feeling like a winner.
“I’m really happy with my performance,” she said on the phone a week after getting back from a vacation in Rome with her family following the games.
“It was a great experience with all the supporters and the athletes. I might have had some personal bests.
“My main goal was to get there and experience the games. In four years, I will focus more on results.”
Mullin, who is legally blind, competed in one biathlon and three cross country skiing races, with two sixth place finishes, one eighth and one 10th.
For cross-country skiing, she skied with a guide. For the biathlon, she wore a special headset that made a sound indicating how close she was to the target.
“It was really cool to have this at the Games, and I did my best shooting,” she said. “That was my first race, and it might have been the highlight for me.”
Meeting the other Team Canada athletes was also a highlight, she said. As was the camaraderie and good advice she received from some of them and the close bonds she formed with others.
She said she and a teammate played cards with the Brazil team during down times, “and it was really nice to connect on a different level.”
Canada won 15 medals: three gold, four silver and eight bronze.
The wheelchair curling team hung on to their gold medal streak. The para hockey team won silver. And para cross-country skier Natalie Wilkie won gold, which was very meaningful, as that’s Mullin’s category.
“It was really emotional to watch the podium ceremony. I was so proud of them all,” she said.
As for competing on the world stage, Mullin said the Paralympic games weren’t much different from the World Cup, which she has competed in, “except the crowds were bigger. But I focused on my race and my teammates.”
She will renew focus on her performance in the coming years.
“I have a lot to improve,” she acknowledged.
But for now, she’ll enjoy the spring and summer.
She has some Team Canada events coming up and will attend Nipissing University in the fall.
