Canmore's Brian McKeever made history on Monday (March 12) in becoming the most decorated Winter Paralympian in Canadian history after winning his 14th career medal in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Canmore's Brian McKeever made history on Monday (March 12) in becoming the most decorated Winter Paralympian in Canadian history after winning his 14th career medal in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Competing in his fifth Paralympic Games, the 38-year-old earned his third straight Paralympic gold in the men's cross-country 20-kilometre visually impaired freestyle event with a time of 46 minutes and 2.4 seconds. It also marked the 11th gold medal of his career.
The victory bumped him ahead of para alpine skier Lana Spreeman, who won 13 medals in her five Paralympic appearances.
"That one was really hard," said McKeever, following his gold medal victory. "I was hurting by the end."
The veteran skier started the race well, building up a comfortable lead half-way through the race, but on his final lap it appeared fatigue might finally catch up with him and undo all his hard work.
Fortunately, he was able to hang on and cross the finish line more than a minute ahead of Yury Holub from Belarus. Thomas Clarion of France finished third.
McKeever credited his gold medal performance to both his guides, Russell Kennedy and Graham Nishikawa.
"They did an awesome job today. It was super windy out there so to be able to tuck in behind these big boys was important for me to be able to get that rest a bit. They pushed hard and skied really well the whole way."
Alongside his 14th career medal, McKeever was also selected as flag bearer for the Paralympic opening ceremony earlier in the week and will now turn his attention to the 1.5 km sprint event on Wednesday (March 14).
