Brian McKeever

Brian McKeever (born June 18, 1979) is a Canadian cross-country skier and biathlete, who became Canada's most decorated Winter Paralympian when he won his 14th medal at the 2018 Winter Paralympics.[1] He finished the 2018 Games with a career total of 13 gold medals and 17 medals in all, making him also the most decorated Paralympic cross-country skier ever.[2]

Brian McKeever
Brian (right) and Robin McKeever after receiving their gold medals at the 2010 Winter Paralympics
Personal information
NationalityCanadian
Born (1979-06-18) June 18, 1979
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Sport
CountryCanada
SportCross-country skiing and biathlon
Disability classB3
PartnerGraham Nishikawa
Former partner(s)Robin McKeever
Erik Carleton
Coached byRobin McKeever

Biography

McKeever began skiing at the age of three and started competing at thirteen. At 19 he began losing his vision due to Stargardt's disease.[3] At the 2002 and 2006 Winter Paralympics he competed in both cross-country skiing and biathlon. He won two gold medals and a silver in cross-country the first year and bronze medal for biathlon plus two gold medals and a silver for cross-country skiing in the later year.[4] For his performance at the 2006 Games McKeever was named Best Male at the Paralympic Sport Awards.[5]

McKeever's older brother, Robin McKeever, competed as his guide when Brian skis in the Paralympics, until 2014, when Erik Carleton took over.[6]

In 2010, he became the first Canadian athlete to be named to both Paralympic and Olympic teams.[7] At the 2010 Winter Olympics, he was going to compete in the men's 50km cross-country race, however Canada's coach decided to replace him with a skier who did well at an earlier event at the 2010 games and thus he did not become the first athlete in the world to compete in the Winter Paralympics and Winter Olympics in the same year.[8][9]

At the 2010 Paralympics McKeever won three gold medals for cross-country skiing.

McKeever repeated this triple gold medal performance at the 2014 Sochi Winter Paralympics, sweeping the men's visually impaired cross country skiing individual events for the second time.[10]

At the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea McKeever's gold medal in the men's 20-kilometre cross-country ski freestyle event was the 14th of his career, to pass the late Lana Spreeman as Canada's most decorated Winter Paralympian.[1] He won another two individual gold and a team relay bronze, his third triple gold medal sweep, for a career total of 13 gold medals and 17 medals in all, making him also the most decorated Paralympic cross-country skier ever.[2]

Awards and honours

In 2011, McKeever was inducted alongside his brother Robin into the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame.[11]

He was Canada's flagbearer at the opening of the 2018 Winter Paralympics, where he was competing in his fifth Winter Paralympics.[1]

References
  1. Hall, Vicki (March 12, 2018). "Brian McKeever's 'relentless' drive leads to historic Paralympic gold". CBC Sports. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  2. Heroux, Devin (March 18, 2018). "Greatness abounds as Canadians smash country's Paralympic medal record". CBC Sports. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  3. "Paralympic Sport Awards". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  4. "Brian McKeever". Canadian Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  5. "Winners of Paralympic Awards 2007 Announced". International Paralympic Committee. 15 October 2007.
  6. Brian McKeever video profile by Paralympic Sport TV
  7. Kingston, Gary (23 January 2010). "Blind to limitations; McKeever becomes first winter Paralympian to qualify for Olympic Games". Vancouver Sun. p. G3.
  8. Cernetig, Miro (17 February 2010). "Legally blind skier embodies the Olympic ideal; Brian McKeever will be the first disabled athlete to compete in Winter Games and Paralympics". Vancouver Sun. p. D6.
  9. Associated Press, "Canada's McKeever to ski at Olympics, Paralympics", Rachel Cohen, 17 February 2010 (accessed 21 February 2010)
  10. Hicks, Brandon (March 16, 2014). "Brian McKeever makes history with more Paralympic gold". CBC Sports. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  11. "Previous Hall of Fame Inductees". Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
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