ÖSTERSUND, Sweden – Coming in as the new head coach of an already well-established team, Brian McKeever perhaps said it best.
“Don’t change what’s not broken.”
There hasn’t been too much tinkering done to an already proven formula set in place for Canada’s Para Nordic skiing team, which is coming off a record-setting 2023 Para Nordic Skiing World Championships, winning a remarkable 16 medals – the most ever for the Canadians at a world championships.
“It’s unbelievable,” said McKeever.
“From my end, it shows that everything is still working and we continue to build. But in the end, it’s the athletes that make it. It’s their work and they are absolutely the ones who earned this.”
Flying home a little heavier with all the hardware earned in Ostersund, Sweden from Jan. 18-29, Team Canada’s 16 medals (seven gold, six silver, three bronze) broke the previous record of 10 in 2019 in Prince George, British Columbia.
Five Canadians finished on the podium in individual biathlon and cross-country races: Mark Arendz, Collin Cameron, Natalie Wilkie, Christina Picton, and Brittany Hudak.
Canada finished third in the medal count. Germany (six gold, 12 silver, nine bronze) and Ukraine (six gold, eight silver, 13 bronze) tied for first with 27 medals.
Canada picked up from where it left off at the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympics last March. The team had won 14 medals at the major competition, which was also coach McKeever’s last dance as a competitive racer.
“It’s nice to carry the momentum we had from last year and just keep rolling,” said McKeever. “That’s what you want to do as an athlete, build on what you’ve already created.”
Despite being heavyweights in the sport, the Canadian athletes still managed to pile up personal bests at the big event.
Most of Canada’s athletes had world championships firsts such as Hudak and Picton winning inaugural medals, Cameron shooting down targets and skiing fast to win biathlon gold, Wilkie becoming a multiple world champion, and Arendz racing over the finish line in first place in cross-country skiing for the first time.
“The athletes are constantly evolving and getting better and their performances are constantly improving,” said Arendz. “It’s always a little different being at a worlds after the Games. Everyone has different focuses, but whether the pressure comes off or there are different focuses as we target a new quad, those elements are starting to really come into play and we’ve been showing that those are working.”
There’s excitement around the team moving forward as McKeever, along with Menno Arendz and Bjorn Taylor, take over as coaches from Robin McKeever, who is now the head coach of the national ski team.
After retiring from the sport less than a year ago, when asked if McKeever wished he was back out there on the frozen trails competing, the new Para Nordic head coach was quick with a response.
“Nope,” he said with a laugh.
“But [coaching is] definitely still really new for me and there’s a lot of learning that needs to go on every day and getting better because the athletes deserve that. I just want to be a coach they trust and a coach they believe in as well and I’m trying my best to become that. It’s a long road for sure.”
