Paralympic athlete inspires students to move mountains

-Paralympian Mark Arendz tells the students at Vernon River Consolidated about his experience at the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver.


By Charlotte MacAulay

“It’s an honour to give the younger generation inspiration to follow their dreams,” said Paralympic athlete, Mark Arendz at a recent trip to Vernon River Consolidated.
Mr Arendz, 20, has overcome many obstacles in his short life to end up as an elite athlete representing team Canada as a biathlete in the 2010 Vancouver Paralympic games.
Even though at the age of seven he lost his arm in an accident on the family farm, he has always been involved in sport and found at the age of 12 he was born to ski when he won his very first biathlon race.
From then on he has made his way through provincials and nationals and was competing in the world cup by age 17.
The entire student body at Vernon River Consolidated were treated to a presentation by Mr Arendz on April 1 in which he told them all about what it is like to be a world class athlete.
The students got to see and hear about the training it takes to be at the top and Mr Arendz made sure they all knew anyone who wants to can succeed.
It’s a lot of hard work he said but it is possible to move a mountain if you move it one stone at a time.
Mr Arendz talked about the heros in his life such as Terry Fox and Rick Hansen who have inspired him to keep striving for his goals and Librarian Cathy MacIssac told him he was an hero to all the students.
Mr Arendz passed around the uniform he used in Vancouver, his athlete’s pass and one of his targets that he uses to keep himself focused on doing his best.
Mr Arendz said he didn’t expect to win any medals at his first paralympic games and he was very happy with his finishes in the five races he did. His goal is now to medal at the Paralympics in Russia in 2014.