Xavier McKeever is a very practical young man.
The calculating 11-year-old cross-country skier excels at several sports in the Bow Valley. Speed skating, soccer and alpine, but when it came to picking a sport in advance of the Alberta Winter Games, he made an educated decision.
“Well, I just think I have a bit of an advantage with my parents being Olympians,” said McKeever, son of Olympic alumnus Robin McKeever (1998 Winter Olympics) and Milaine Theriault (1998, 2002 and 2006 Olympic Winter Games). “They’re really good coaches.”
Following in his parent’s footsteps, Xavier won two Alberta Winter Games gold medals: one in the relay and another in the sprint.
After getting plenty of advice from his parents and uncle Brian McKeever, Xavier is typically a strong distance racer, but he shocked the family with the sprint win.
“I’m pretty happy with it,” said Xavier, who is competing in his first Alberta Winter Games.
With his strategy mapped out before the race, he executed his plan to perfection.
“At first you have to stay back a bit and on the final straight you just have to go,” he said.
It also worked for the rest of the Zone 2 skiers, who dominated the event with 44 medals in cross-country ski races over the three-day event.
Isobel Hendry won three gold medals to lead the team in the classic, sprint and relay races. She can’t decide which discipline she likes best, but loved the games.
“The opening ceremonies were fun and being with my friends,” Hendry said. “I like everything. It’s a fun sport.”
Riley Millar, 15, won his first sprint gold medal in dramatic fashion – a lunge at the line and a photo finish over his teammates. The juvenile boys sprint final featured four Canmore Nordic athletes.
“It was close. I didn’t have much at the end,” said Millar, who put himself in a great spot by winning the first hill climb. This is his third Alberta Winter Games, but first as a cross-country skier. He usually competes as a biathlete, where his older brother is one of Canada’s top prospects. Riley decided to concentrate on skiing this year and is having the best season of his career.
“It’s lots of work to do both. I haven’t regretted my decision yet,” Millar said.
Coaches with Canmore Nordic said the multiple medal wins are indicative of the club’s depth. Maya Fish, Melanie Jones, Karly Coyne, Clara Strum, Anita Martin, Olivia Peterson, Luke Fricker, Eric Fabbri, Devin Manktelow, Reed Godfrey, Ty Godfrey, Oranne Trouillot, Ava Holman, Miliana Giesbrecht, Lea McCroy, Amy Morton, Lily Bell, Riley Millar, Alexander Harvey and Kindrey De Nys all won gold for Zone 2, and added several more silver and bronze medals.
“The team performed really well. It’s a busy race schedule this year, but they’re handling everything very well. We have some very strong young athletes,” said coach Matt Decarufel. “They set high expectations, but they met high expectations … The biggest thing was to enjoy racing. They wanted to race and really enjoy racing,” Decarufel said.
Visit www.albertagames.com for a full list of medal winners.
