Mark Arendz
Canadian Paralympic athlete
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Mark Arendz OPEI (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.[1][2]
Mark Arendz (2014) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | March 3, 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 75 kg (165 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Country | Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Paralympic biathlon, Para-Nordic skiing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Updated on 11 March 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.[1] He also went to Nicaragua with the non-profit organization SchoolBOX to help build a school for the community who had to move.[3]
Career
At his first Paralympics in Vancouver 2010, Arendz participated in six races but did not medal.[4]
During the 2014 Winter Paralympics, he received silver and bronze medals for the 7.5 kilometres standing and the 12.5 kilometres standing respectively.[5] 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.[4][6] 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.[4][7] 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.[8]
At the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea Arendz won a Canadian single Games record[9] 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.[10]
He won the bronze medal in the men's 6 kilometres standing event at the 2022 Winter Paralympics held in Beijing, China.[11]
At the 2026 Winter Paralympics, Arendz won silver in the para biathlon and bronze in the 10km interval start standing classic.[12]
