For years, ParaNordic athlete Brian McKeever has been the talk of the nation for his crazed wolverine-like endurance on cross-country ski trails.
His ability to wear down opponents by growing stronger the deeper he works into distance races is the result of excellent discipline, great shape and a beast-like will which has landed him 12 Paralympic medals and a trip to the 2010 Winter Olympics.
But short sprint races, such as the one-kilometre visually impaired skate sprint on Wednesday (March 12) at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, are not his forté.
Give his competitors a 30-second lead because of Paralympic handicap rules, and things look grim. Have McKeever fall after a competitor steps on his pole 200 metres into the race, sending his skis in the air before crashing on his back, and the race should be over.
“When I saw that, I thought his day was done,” said head coach Robin McKeever. “I guess I should give him more credit.”
Remarkably, McKeever rose up from 30-centimetres of new wet snow and shot like a bullet through the Russian blizzard toward the finish line. His guide, Graham Nishikawa, threw down the hammer and led McKeever around Russian and Swedish skiers en route to his second gold medal of the Paralympics and ninth of his career (see more on page 35).
“Wow, that was stressful,” said McKeever after the race. “It wouldn’t be right for me to tell you what I said in my head, but once the cuss words were out, the only thing you can do is get back up and race.”
The win was one of the most dramatic moments of McKeever’s career, as he was left physically and emotionally drained at the finish line.
“I thought we were clear, but that’s norma and it happens in sprinting when you are all fighting and tight. Everyone is going flat out… We are just fortunate it happened in the first 200 metres and not at the end so we had time to catch up.”
The class of the cross-country field, McKeever credited his support crew and Nishikawa for the win. His skis were incredibly fast on the day and, although this was Nishikawa’s first attempt guiding McKeever in a skate sprint, the team worked well together.
“There was a little panic and little stress for me,” Nishikawa said. “But I calmed down and we went as hard as we could up the hill. Once we were around the Swedish team in the last 100 metres, I was pretty relieved.”
Nishikawa is no slouch in the skate sprint, having reached the podium at Canadian Ski Nationals last season. Fresh off a world cup race, he set the pace that allowed McKeever to win.
“What a set of wheels on Graham today,” McKeever said. “The snow was so heavy, he basically towed me up that hill and got me around the Russian roadblock out there and gave us a chance. It is not how we planned things, but that was a pretty awesome day.”
Nishikawa said heavy snow gave an advantage to the finesse skiers, but the entire Games have been an eye-opening experience for him.
“There is a lot to Para sports that is different than for able bodied skiers,” Nishikawa said. “It’s really exciting racing and really a blast.”
Coach Robin McKeever said thus far, the Canadian team has exceeded his expectations, and said his brother and Nishikawa truly impressed him on the day.
“It was pretty stressful for Brian to go from last to first. There’s more there than I expected,” Robin said of his brother. “The conditions were a little slow off the line with 25 cm of new snow, so that may have played a little factor, but the wax techs were on the ball today. If you fall in the final, you’ve gotta go. If you have no skis, there’s no point.”
McKeever will race again on Sunday (March 16) and Erik Carleton is expected to guide him if he stays healthy, although he could split duties again with Nishikawa, as was the case in the 20 km visually impaired classic.
