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McKeever brothers net two gold medals

Canmore cross-country skiers lead way for Canadians at Paralympics
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Robin McKeever guides his brother Brian to another gold medl in Pragelato. Photo by Benoit Pelosse (CPC)

Pragelato, Italy - The skinny ski team of Brian and Robin McKeever came into the Paralympic Games favoured to win at least three medals in cross-country events and were pleasantly surprised when they also picked up a bronze in Tuesday’s 7.5 km biathlon – Brian, who competes in the visually impaired category with Robin as his guide, is not much of a shot.

The brothers, from Canmore, Alberta, came out of the gate in the men’s 10 km Wednesday in a full classic-style sprint, and didn’t let up the pace until they reached the halfway point with a comfortable gap of over 25 seconds on the Belarus team of Vasili Shaptsiaboi and guide Mikalai Shablousk.

Even then they only let up slightly, and by the end had secured their second gold medal of the Paralympics by a gap of 45 seconds.

"We put a lot into it from the beginning," said Robin. "As the guide I set the pace for us, and we started fairly aggressively and skied hard to the end.

"I saw we had a lead at the halfway mark, but the board is not always clear with splits and percentage, so we didn’t want to lay up."

On Sunday the McKeevers earned Canada’s first medal at the 2006 Paralympic Games in the visually impaired men’s 5 km. The brothers won with a 17-second gap over Frank Hoefle and guide Wachlin Johannes of Germany, and 40 seconds on the team of Flo Helge and guide Lonegard Thomas of Norway – a completely blind skier.

For the B3 category, which includes Brian, athletes are ranked according to their time. For athletes who rank B2 (partial vision) and B1 (blind), each athlete is assigned a percentage that essentially deducts time from their final result to even things up. Without a clear idea where the competitors are once their percentage is factored in, the McKeevers left nothing to chance Wednesday.

"We came into the stadium (after the first lap) confident where we were sitting, and did ease up a little on our second lap. We started to see some of our competition ahead of us, and skied their race for a bit, then put on a good burst of speed to get well past them because if they latched on it could be bad for us.

"One group had a two per cent advantage on us, and if we towed them into the finish line they would have beaten us."

For Brian McKeever it was a good day to race.

"It was a great day today, a perfect day for racing. The ski techs did a wonderful job getting our stuff ready, and it was really a lot of fun to be out there," he said.

McKeever, who still has fairly good eyesight, competes individually in able-bodied events where he has always been a serious contender, while his brother Robin was among the top skinny skiers in Canada. Together they make the perfect team, with Robin blocking wind and warming up the snow and Brian following less than a metre behind in his brother’s tracks. Every pole plant, every kick off the skis appears almost perfectly coordinated from start to finish.

Brian competes in able bodied events, he says, because there are not enough visually impaired events to keep up his training. He also likes to match himself up against the best skiers in the country, which forces him to continue to improve.

"It’s better than trying to do it on your own," he said. "Even being mid-pack in an able-bodied race is better than training on your own. I grew up racing in the able-bodied system, and that’s where I learned everything."

"It’s more satisfying watching the able bodied guys when they find out a blind guy just beat them," added Robin. "I know, I’ve been beaten by Brian before. Not always but more and more as I get older."

Brian is now 26, while Robin is 32.

The McKeevers were the surprise winners of the 10 km event at Salt Lake City four years ago, but Brian says this result was more satisfying.

"In Salt Lake City we went in as the new guys, we went in and took a few medals and did something that wasn’t expected," he said. "Here we were the favourites, so to rise to the occasion and deliver is more significant in a way."

Their final time was 26:09.50, while Shablousk and Koupchinsky were second in 26:55.50, and Valery Koupchinsky and guide Viatcheslav Doubov took the bronze in 27:10.20.

Bourgonje earns bronze

Canada’s second medal of the day Wednesday, a bronze, came courtesy of Colette Bourgonje of Saskatchewan, who is making her first Paralympic appearance this year. She started the women’s 5 km sitting race at full speed, and at the halfway point held the lead by about 10 seconds. She realized that she might have gone out too hard, and found herself struggling a little near the end. It’s a mistake Bourgonje doesn’t plan to make again.

"It’s awesome to be on the podium – it’s such a tough group to crack the top-five and it’s awesome to be in the top-three," she said.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself, and I was maybe a little too hyped up, too ready to go. My first lap was fast, I was in the lead. On the second lap I was dead, but I gave it a hundred and ten per cent, I couldn’t have given it any more."

In a sport where waxing and tuning can make a huge difference, Bourgonje made a decision that morning to change skis. "The skis were awesome, really good and fast. I changed my skis from that first race, and I’m so glad I made that switch for today."

At one point Bourgonje was almost knocked over by another skier in a passing section, and would have been out of the medal run if she hadn’t been able to recover quickly.

"I was trying to stay in the tracks in a really hard section, and before I knew it another ski hit my pole… and was bumped out of the race. If she hit me instead of the pole, that would have been it for me," she said.

While it may seem like the sitting category relies on strength and fitness, Bourgonje says it’s really more technique. "You’re double poling almost the whole way, and every movement has to happen in sequence to get that push, and you have to know where you can push it and when to sit back," she said. "If you lose that sequence, or you’re uneven you can lose a lot of time trying to get back in your groove."

The win went to Olena Iurkovska of the Ukraine, followed by Liudmila Vauchok of Belarus, who ended her race just six second ahead of Bourgonje.