PARALYMPICS:

McKeever wins Canada's 1st gold of Vancouver Paralympics

March 15, 2010 — The Canadian Press     ►Photo: The McKeevers charge to gold (CPC)

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WHISTLER, B.C. — It was a medal eight years in the making and it helped ease some of Brian McKeever's Olympic disappointment.

McKeever's victory in the 20-kilometre cross-country ski race for the visually impaired Monday was Canada's first gold medal of the Winter Paralympics. It also was the first time he had won the 20-kilometre race after finishing second in 2002 in Salt Lake and in Turin in 2006.

"That meant a lot," said McKeever, who finishes almost 42 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. "That was the one we were waiting to win. That's the one we really wanted."

The gold also helped reduce the frustration McKeever felt about not racing at last month's Olympics.

He qualified for the Canadian Olympic team in January and was poised to become the first winter sport athlete to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

But the Winter Games ended in heartbreak for McKeever after the Canadian coaching staff decided not to start him in his event, the gruelling 50 kilometres.

"It makes it a lot easier," said the 30-year-old from Canmore, Alta., said of Monday's gold. "We are never going to forget what happened but this helps us move on.

"We still have more racing to go and more things to look ahead to."

McKeever and his brother Robin, who acts as his guide, finished the race in 51 minutes 14.7 seconds. Nikolay Polukhin of Russia was second in 51:55.6 while Vasiki Shaptsiaboi of Belarus was third in 52:22.5.

Not competing at the Olympics was a devastating blow to McKeever.

"I keep saying it hurts as much as the day I was told I was going to lose my eyesight," McKeever said prior to the Paralympics. "That's how big it was for me. It was huge, crushing.

"But I got over the eyes. I will get over this."

McKeever has Stargaard's disease, a genetic disease that has reduced his vision to about 10 per cent, all of which is peripheral.

It's the fifth Paralympic gold for McKeever. He also has two silvers and one bronze in his collection.

He won two gold, a silver and a bronze at the 2006 Turin Paralympics.

McKeever finished sixth in his first Paralympic race Saturday, the three-kilometre biathlon pursuit.  SRC