Canadian alpine skier Alexis Guimond aims to showcase best work at Paralympics

Alexis Guimond competes in the Men’s Super G Standing at the 2026 Paralympic Games in Cortina, Italy on March 9, 2026 // Alexis Guimond participe à l'épreuve de Super G debout hommes aux Jeux paralympiques de 2026 à Cortina, en Italie, le 9 mars 2026. CANADIAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE, Angela Burger

Alexis Guimond views himself as an artist of sorts.

Many hours of work behind the scenes, a short moment to put his work on display for all to see.

On Friday, the Para alpine skier from Gatineau, Que., gets one more chance to showcase his work in the men’s standing giant slalom at the Milan Cortina Paralympics. He earned bronze at the 2018 Pyeongchang Paralympics in the event.

“It’s the pursuit of excellence. For me, to be the best in the world means something,” Guimond said. “I see myself like an artist. I put thousands of hours of work that people don’t really see in training, in the gym, and on the hill. And then in about a minute or two, I get that isolated moment in my life that I have to give the absolute best I can. And that’s the true art of it.

“It’s a truly surreal experience, and it’s truly the pursuit of excellence.”

Guimond, 26, did not finish in the downhill and super-G. He came to Italy as the reigning bronze medallist in the latter event from the 2022 Beijing Games.

“The approach was definitely to gain that confidence back that I had in the World Cup season. That was my vision, really get in there and do the most,” he told reporters last Saturday after the downhill.

“Even with the crash that happened in training that I got pretty shook by, I thought I could just look past that and really do my best. But it was really hard to refocus after the point where I crashed.”

Heading into the Games, Guimond had earned his first Crystal Globe as the overall standings leader in the super-G. He earned three gold and a bronze in four super-G World Cup races.

Guimond ranked second overall in the men’s standing downhill standings behind Switzerland’s Robin Cuche on the strength of six podium finishes, including his first gold, on the World Cup circuit.

His two world championship medals, however, are in the giant slalom: a bronze in 2017 and silver in 2025.

“I just want to put on an incredible performance, one of my best performances in my life, in front of my family and friends,” he said. “That’s a true thing I want to accomplish.”

Guimond was involved in an accident at six months old that resulted in hemiparesis — full paralysis — on the right side of his body.

He was introduced to Para sport at age eight when his dad showed him athletes competing at the Paralympics. He eventually progressed from competing at the Canada Games and national championships to becoming a Paralympian.

“I was astonished. I was super excited to see all these people with these different disabilities compete and be able to have an opportunity comparatively to the Olympics,” Guimond said.

“And that was just an amazing thing and I’ve heard that there was a pair of ski racing and I was already into ski racing. And I was competing with people with no disabilities at the time. So competing with the people with disabilities was a truly inclusive experience and made me feel like a part of something.”

Abdulhamid Ibrahim, The Canadian Press