PARALYMPICS:

McKeever, Forest, Woolstencroft add 3 golds to Canadian Paralympic tally

March 18, 2010 — The Canadian Press

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WHISTLER, B.C. — It was a gold medal bonanza for Canada at the Paralympics on Thursday.

Canada doubled its tally by winning three golds in alpine and cross-country ski events.

Alpine skier Lauren Woolstencroft of North Vancouver, B.C., won her third gold with a victory in the women's standing downhill while visually impaired cross-country skier Brian McKeever captured his second gold in the 10-kilometre classic race.

Viviane Forest of Edmonton also took gold in the women's downhill for the visually impaired. It was her third medal of the Paralympics but first gold.

Colette Bourgonje also won a bronze in the women's 5-kilometre sitting cross-country ski race.

Canada now has six gold, three silver and three bronze.

Woolstencroft, who also has golds in the slalom and giant slalom, won in 1 minute, 25.54 seconds. Solene Jambaque of France was second in 1:29.94. Canada's Andrea Dziewior fell at the finish line and was taken away on a stretcher.

Forest and guide Lindsay Debou of Whistler, B.C., covered the course in 1:27.51. Henrieta Farkasova and Natalia Subrtova of Slovakia were second in 1:28.17.

Forest also won a silver in the slalom and a bronze in giant slalom.

Colette Bourgonje added a bronze to Canada's medal tally after finishing third in the women's 5 km cross-country sit-ski.

"I'm happy. It's great to compete in Canada and I'm just grateful for all the support I've had," she said. "It's my last Paralympic Games and what a way to end it in Canada."

Liudmila Vauchok took the gold after finishing at 14:56.6, followed by Germany's Andrea Eskau (15:11.4). Bourgonje finished at 15:16.4, just slightly ahead of fourth-place finisher Olena Iurkovska of the Ukraine.

McKeever and his brother Robin, who acts as his guide, won with a time of 26:01.6.

"It was hard," said McKeever. "We were fighting a lot out there. I wasn't totally comfortable with the pace for that distance."

McKeever gave credit to his brother.

"Robin looked really good. He was able to excel at will but I wasn't able to follow," he said. "It was hard for me to fight through when we were trying to go around another people. When it comes time to create these little bursts and make a move, I have a hard time doing it."

Both brothers came down with colds after the Olympics.

McKeever won gold in the 20-kilometre race Monday. That medal helped ease the disappointment of not racing at the Olympics.

McKeever 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 grueling 50 kilometres.  SRC