January 27, 2025
By Ryan Flaherty for Canadian Sport Centre Saskatchewan
Kurt Oatway thought he would have success this season, but the amount he’s had thus far has surprised even him.
The two-time Paralympian is enjoying one of the best stretches of his Para alpine skiing career, with seven top-three finishes including three gold medals on the global circuit since early December.
“I kinda expected to hit the podium a couple of times. I didn’t expect to be on almost every single podium,” he said.
While Oatway is no stranger to the winner’s circle, his recent medal haul is an encouraging sign as he looks ahead to the upcoming world championships and beyond that, to the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in Italy.
A gold medallist in the men’s sitting super G at the 2018 Paralympics in South Korea, Oatway missed out on a chance to defend his title at the 2022 Games after sustaining multiple injuries including a broken shoulder, broken collarbone, three broken ribs and a punctured lung in a crash just a few weeks prior. Since then, he’s been working to regain his championship form with an eye to competing in his third Paralympics overall.
“It really sucked sitting at home watching the Games and watching the track, because the track looked pretty fun. I’m pretty sure I could have done well on it,” Oatway said. “It was a really sad time but I used it as motivation to come back, because as soon as I broke my shoulder and I knew I was out, I was like, ‘I can’t go out like this.’”
While the Calgary product —who got his Para alpine start in Regina — has surprised even himself with some of his results this winter, his journey back to the top of the mountain began much earlier. There was the initial recovery from his injuries, adjustments to his equipment, and the mental process of returning to competition with the level of fearlessness required to win medals.
Like most comebacks, Oatway’s hasn’t always been smooth. But having been injured before, he had a clearer sense of the path that lay before him. He first returned to competition during the 2022-23 season, earning a couple of podium finishes, then took another big step forward in 2023-24, finishing second overall in the World Cup sitting downhill standings.
Through it all, he’s kept his sights set on Italy, not only because he couldn’t bear the thought of an injury costing him a potential final shot at Paralympic glory, but also to prove that despite being one of the older athletes on the World Cup circuit — Oatway will be 42 by the time the Games begin next March — he can still compete with the best.
“The fact that I can still consistently put down fast runs and keep up with the top guys, it’s keeping me in the sport for longer,” Oatway said. “I’ve always told myself if I can keep up, if I can still hit the podium and still believe that I’m competitive, I’ll keep doing it.”
Oatway has high hopes for the upcoming world championships and once the season comes to a close, he’ll begin preparing in earnest for next year’s Games with the preliminary goal of medaling in his top two disciplines, the downhill and super G.
“It would mean a lot (to medal). It would be a justification of the last twenty years of my life, doing it again,” Oatway said.
Based on his recent track record, it would be unwise to bet against him.