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Get in TouchCalgary, AB. (February 4, 2026) — The Canadian Para Alpine Ski Team started February in fine fashion on Wednesday, claiming a pair of podium performances in the men’s downhill in Tignes, FRA, as the world’s attention shifts to the slopes ahead of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics.
Battling through a significant delay amid winds and snow, Kurt Oatway (Calgary, AB) skied to a second-place finish in the men’s sitting category, while Alexis Guimond (Gatineau, QC) finished third in men’s standing. For each, it marked their third podium finish since the calendar flipped to 2026, following a top-three finish in speed events in Saalbach, AUT, in January.
Oatway, 41, pushed out of the start gate as the flurries parted, getting out to a strong start, before taking a slight speed check midway through his run to adjust his line, before pushing through and clocking the fastest split through the final sector of the race.
With his time of 1:14.33, he trailed Norway’s Jesper Pedersen’s winning time by just 0.84 seconds, while finishing ahead of Japan’s Taikii Mori, who rounded out the podium in a mark of 1:14.69.
“Getting on the podium after a year of cancelled downhills and then getting injured in November felt pretty good,” Oatway said. “I had a bit of a headwind out of the gate and some small tactical errors, so I was a bit slower than my best training run, but it's always rewarding to be on the podium, and there is another gear to be found for tomorrow.”
Just before Oatway charged down the slope, the 26-year-old Guimond put together a similar run. Following a strong start, he too slowed down midway through the course, before also posting the fastest split in the final sector.
His final factored time of 1:12.95 finished slightly behind the winning mark of 1:11.56 from Switzerland’s Robin Cuche and the second-place time of France’s Arthur Bauchet, who finished in 1:12.37.
“Solid effort today! I'm quite satisfied with my approach, chasing speed, adapting the tactics and taking risks.” said Guimond.“I'm proud of the strong skiing I put forward at the bottom. There is room for adjustments, and thrilled for tomorrow's opportunity.”
After changing to the finish, he celebrated with a passionate fist-pump, securing his 46th podium on the World Cup circuit and ninth of the 2025-26, lofting him to third in the overall rankings in his category. Meanwhile, Oatway’s third podium of the season elevated him to 14th in the overall ranking and 12th in downhill.
Outside of the two podium finishers, Brian Rowland (Merrickville, ON) finished ninth in men’s sitting, while Michaela Gosselin (Collingwood, ON) skied to fifth in women’s standing in challenging conditions before the course-hold delayed proceedings.
Over in Italy, Canadian men hit the Milan Cortina Olympic slopes in Bormio, ITA, for the first time as well for the opening downhill training runs. Jeffrey Read (Canmore, AB) topped the results in 10th, with Cameron Alexander (North Vancouver, BC) in 20th, Brodie Seger (North Vancouver, BC) in 21st, James Crawford (Toronto, ON) in 28th, and Riley Seger (North Vancouver, BC) in 34th.
Para alpine World Cup racing continues with another downhill on Thursday and a super-G on Friday. At the same time, the Olympic slopes of Bormio and Cortina d’Ampezzo see both men’s and women’s downhill training runs on Thursday.