FERGUS – Things came full circle for the Mullin family the week of Feb. 28, as 15-year-old Madison Mullin competed in the Canada Winter Games and won a gold and two silvers in para Nordic cross-country skiing.
Her success came 32 years after her father Matt Mullin brought home gold from the Canada Winter Games with the rest of his men’s hockey team back in 1991.
“It made me really excited to go since he’s already been to the Canada Winter Games,” Madison said in a phone interview.
“It just happened, but I’m glad it happened because it’s exciting to experience that for myself.”
“Prince Edward Island hasn’t hosted since 1991,” Matt said in a separate phone interview. “It was nice for me to go back. And now we each have a gold medal.”
Madison was born with congenital glaucoma, a condition that has left her with no light perception in her right eye and very limited tunnel vision in her left eye.
“She’s legally blind,” said her mother Andrea Mullin.
She and her sister Caitlyn and twin sister Lauren, who all attend Centre Wellington District High School, were all competitive downhill skiers.
But as Madison became faster and proficient on the hill, it became more difficult for her to see the gates and other significant markers on the course.
Her parents took her to a para sports open house at the Canadian Sport Institute of Ontario in Toronto, where she met Patti Kitler, founder of the Laurentian Nordic Ski Club’s para Nordic ski program.
Kitler has coached several Paralympians and Madison said when Kitler invited her to try the program, she was hooked.
“Patti Kitler was the first person we spoke with and she invited us out for a trial ski day,” she said.
“From then forward, I have been involved with Nordic ski racing and have developed a true love for the sport.”
Madison Mullin won one gold and two silvers in para-nordic skiing at the Canada Winter Games last week in PEI. This week she’s competing at the 2023 Nordiq Canada Ski Nationals in Thunder Bay. Submitted photo
Because of her vision impairment, Madison skis with a guide, who points out turns and obstacles and lets her know how close her competitors are.
The guide has to be a good skier too, and Madison said she’s lucky with Faith Goudie, a student at Laurentian University who is an accomplished cross-country skier and part of the guiding program.
“She tells me where to go. We communicate together,” Madison said.
“We’re grateful to have Faith involved,” added Matt.
At the Canada Winter Games from Feb. 18 to March 5, Madison won three medals: silvers in the 2.5km classic and 5km free-style races and gold in the 1.2km sprint.
But that’s not the end of the season.
Madison arrived in Thunder Bay on March 10 to compete in the 2023 Nordiq Canada Ski Nationals, which run March 11 to 17.
“And they can be even bigger than the Winter Games,” Madison said.
“I’m feeling a little nervous, but excited too.”
She said she likes the speed and technical aspects of competitive cross-country skiing.
“I find it faster and more fun than downhill skiing,” she said, although bright sunny days and windy days can make it more difficult for her to see.
“I wear goggles over my glasses, but it is a challenge to see,” she said.
Her mother described Madison as a “hard-working, independent, focused and sometimes stubborn kid.
“She knows what she likes. She’s feisty. And that’s good,” Andrea said.
“She’s come a long way this year,” said Matt, adding last May she won a berth on Canada’s para Nordic prospect team and in November was invited to compete in Canmore, Alberta.
These are the races that could see her on Team Canada one day, competing at the Paralympics, which is Madison’s ultimate goal.
Matt said he understands where that comes from. After he played hockey in the Canada Winter Games in 1991, he played for the University of Guelph’s hockey team and won the nationals. He then spent a few years in the minor leagues.
Matt was inducted into the Guelph Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.
The drive, the commitment, the focus and dedication – that’s what it takes, he said.
“And really, it takes commitment from the entire family,” he added.
“That’s what allows us to find the time to help all three of [our daughters] out.”
