Christina Picton remembers arriving at the 2022 Paralympics with a mix of joy and heartache as she took it all in.

A veteran of the Canadian women’s Para hockey team, Picton had always imagined lining up alongside her teammates at the Winter Games. Instead, she made it to Beijing as a nordic skier, because women’s Para hockey remained absent from the Paralympic program.

“A very bittersweet experience,” said Picton, who added skiing to her high-performance resume during the pandemic. “I'd always dreamed of being there, but I dreamt of being there with my women's hockey team.

“An emotional experience rolling up to the Games on that first day and being with really great teammates and surrounded by really lovely people, don't get me wrong, but I always wanted to be there with women's hockey

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