uOttawa Nursing Student and Nordic Skier Emma Archibald named to Paralympic Team

The Gee-Gees Nordic Skiing team will have a second member competing in Milano-Cortina in 2026 as Emma Archibald was named to Canada's para Nordic Skiing Team.

Archibald, a fourth-year nursing student from Fall River, Nova Scotia, is a six-time OUA gold medallist, having won two medals with the Gee-Gees at the 2023, 2024, and 2025 conference championships.

"Being named to the Paralympic team means reaching a mountain-top goal I've worked hard toward since I began this sport!" said Archibald in a Nordic Canada press release announcing the team. 

 "I'm incredibly proud of every step that led me here, and even more excited to represent Canada, my communities, and the Paralympic Movement, using this platform to show our team's strength and inspire the next generation of Para athletes!" 

Archibald placed ninth in the standing 20km event at the 2025 Para Cross Country World Championships and added a thirteenth place finish in the 10km event at her World Championships debut. She has also achieved four top five results on the World Cup circuit over the past three seasons.

In 2023, she was a double-gold medallist at the Canada Games. She was first identified for the national team in 2021-22 when she earned a spot on the National Para Nordic prospects team.

Para nordic skiing competition will take place March 7-15 at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium located in the Val di Fiemme region of Italy. The schedule is as follows: 

March 8: Para Cross-Country Sprint Classic
March 11: Para Cross-Country 20km Free
March 14: Para Cross-Country Relays
March 15: Para Cross-Country Middle Distance