It’s rare that an athlete in the midst of a rough season ends up with a gold medal at world championships, but such was the case for Brian McKeever.
McKeever and guide Erik Carleton struck gold on Sunday (Jan. 25) at the IPC World Championships in the men’s 20-kilometre skate race in Cable, Wisconsin.
McKeever, 35, and Carleton, 37, were once again the class of the visually impaired field, finishing in a time of 43:44.5, more than three minutes ahead of silver medallist Thomas Clarion of France.
Dominant every year on the ParaNordic circuit and near perfect at IPC world champs over the past four years, McKeever decided to only race once at IPC in 2015. His original goal this year was to make Canada’s able-bodied world championship team.
He struggled at the NorAms, where he didn’t have his usual top gear, but managed to win silver in the 10-km classic at the Western Canadian Championships in Lake Louise last weekend. He pulled out of the 20-km skate race to rest and rework his winter plans, and ended up driving late Saturday from Canmore to Wisconsin to make the race.
“It’s been a pretty rough season to now, but it is starting to come around and (this race) is validation of that. I’m pumped to see it come together,” said McKeever. “The wax guys and coaches worked hard to choose skis for me. They deserve a big part of today’s medal because we were able to come in here, put our work boots on and race.”
McKeever and Carleton plan to race the Vasaloppet in Sweden, where they’ll be contenders in the ski marathon events. They are being courted by several pro teams overseas and will hunt for top 10 finishes. McKeever has 13 medals, including 10 gold, in four trips to the Paralympics.
Canada has been a contender in many of its races at world champs thus far. Sit skier Chris Klebl of Canmore was fourth in the 15 km. His time of 45:37 was just off the pace in a competitive field, as he missed the bronze medal by less than a minute.
Brittany Hudak finished sixth in her 15-km classic race.
Mark Arendz finished sixth in the short distance biathlon race and fifth in the middle distance after missing one shot on Tuesday (Jan. 27). Arendz was running in third place and charging on the leaders when he missed the shot, which cost him a spot on the podium.
“I felt more confident on the range today, but not quite as strong on the trails,” said Arendz. “In this field, you cannot afford any mistakes and I’m still making the obvious ones on the range. It was a good race today and I feel I’m getting closer to the leaders.”
Arendz was less than 20 seconds away from a bronze medal, finishing his race in a time of 34:04. Russia’s Vladislav Lekomtcev won the race by shooting clean and clocking a time of 32:41. Norway’s Nils-Erik Ulset was second (33:34).
The IPC World Championships continue until Feb. 1, where Klebl, Arendz and Hudak will all be in the hunt to score Canada’s second medal of the games. Full results and a live stream of the races are available at www.paralympic.org.
