Mark Arendz

Mark Arendz (born March 3, 1990) is a Canadian biathlon and Para-Nordic skier. He was disabled at the age of seven when his arm got caught in the blades of a grain auger. He is a five-time Paralympian, and is a two-time Paralympic gold medalist.

Early life Arendz was born on 3 March 1990 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. At the age of seven, he lost his left arm when he lost his balance putting corn into a grain auger. His arm up to his shoulder was caught in the blades and later amputated in Halifax. After the accident, he worked as a junior counselor for the War Amps organization.

Career At his first Paralympics in Vancouver 2010, Arendz participated in six races but did not medal. Arendz entered the 7.5 km standing biathlon as the defending champion. He came second in the event, seven tenths of a second behind gold medalist Vladislav Lekomtcev of Russia. Azat Karachurin, also from Russia, took bronze in the event. The weather conditions were not good as it rained with heavy fog for the 12.5 kilometre race. Arendz finished the race in 30:24:6 while the defending world champion Azat Karachurin of Russia took gold again. Arendz became the first Canadian to win two biathlon medals at the Winter Paralympics. After the games, his former ski club, Brookvale Nordic Ski Centre, renamed a ski trail in Brookvale, P.E.I after him, boasting this is where he trained. Arendz hopes the new ski trail will encourage more people to give biathlon and cross country skiing a try.

At the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea Arendz won a Canadian single Games record 6 medals, 5 individual and a team relay medal, including biathlon gold, silver and bronze and his first cross-country medals, and was honoured as Canada's flag-bearer for the Games closing ceremony.

He won the bronze medal in the men's 6 kilometres standing event at the 2022 Winter Paralympics held in Beijing, China.

At the 2026 Winter Paralympics, Arendz won silver in the para biathlon and bronze in the 10 km interval start standing classic.