Already looking ahead to the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, Canmore ParaNordic skiers have travelled to Japan to get accustomed to racing on the other side of the world.
If this week’s races are any indication of future Paralympic success, Canada should be a beast of a team in the east.
Brian McKeever and guide Graham Nishikawa won their second gold of the week in the men’s 20-kilometre visually impaired classic race, while Brittany Hudak, 21, also won her second world cup gold in the 15 km standing race.
McKeever first crushed the competition in the 10 km, winning by more than two minutes over the field. He crushed the competition again in the 20 km race with a time of 1:00:15, five minutes ahead of Norway’s Erik Bye and 25 minutes ahead of bronze medallist Hiroshi Kato.
“The course and ski conditions were very tough today. Changing track conditions and a very long, steep hill could have been a rough mix, but the servicemen gave us perfect skis,” McKeever said. “Graham was awesome today. He was so strong on the climbs and his work really laid the foundation for a good result today.”
Nishikawa and Erik Carleton are splitting guiding duties this season. Carleton guided McKeever at the world championships in Cable, Wisconsin, while Nishikawa, who is now a student at the University of Alberta, joined the team for the Japanese world cup.
Hudak impressed her coaches with back-to-back gold medal performances. She skied a solid 15-km in 57:04.2, finishing ahead of Japan’s Yurika Abe, whose 1:01:20 was good enough for silver. The wins are the first of her young career.
Canmore’s Chris Klebl also won silver in the 15 km sitski category, while Mark Arendz finished fourth in the men’s 20 km race. Arendz has now medalled twice in his last three cross-country ski races.
The team was also entering the sprint races on Feb. 18, but results weren’t available at press time.
