Brian McKeever aims to have fun, win gold medals in last dance at Paralympics
CBC
It's the last dance for one of the greatest Canadian Paralympians of all-time.
Brian McKeever, the 42-year-old from Canmore, Alta., owns a national-record 17 medals at the Winter Paralympics. Thirteen of those are gold.
Beijing 2022 represents his sixth and final Games. McKeever, a cross-country skier, will race at least three times in China, beginning with the long-distance classical technique event on Sunday at 9:35 p.m. ET. He's also an option to compete in the mixed-team relay on the final day of action.
McKeever is a B3 athlete, which is the least severe visual impairment category.
"If you stare at the sun for a long time and turn away, you get these fuzzy spots. Well for me, the fuzzy spots don't go away," he once said of his sight.
WATCH | McKeever still going for gold:
Russell Kennedy and Graham Nishikawa share guiding duties for the Canadian legend. It was a role originally held by Brian's brother Robin McKeever, who stepped back in 2016 and now serves as a coach on the team.
Kennedy, a 30-year-old also from Canmore who competed in the 2018 Olympics in cross-country, said McKeever is enjoying his final Paralympics.
For example, Kennedy said McKeever went out on his skis for 41 hours two years ago to celebrate his 40th birthday.
"Stuff like that, it's a lot. But I get to see and watch and it's inspiring at the same time," he said.
McKeever has been inspiring people for a while.
Still, the visibility he produced from just being named to the team was a breakthrough for Paralympic athletes in Canada.
"When we started, Robin and I didn't know this, but Paralympics stands for 'parallel Games.' It's not paraplegic and most people don't know that, so we also have a bit of a marketing problem," he told The Canadian Press recently.
"If I can leave something behind, I hope it is that we made Paralympics more visible. We made the movement more visible. We helped to show that there was parity, certainly at the highest levels between Olympics and Paralympics, by qualifying for both Games."
