January 27, 2008 (Vuokatti, Finland) – Brian McKeever took another stride forward in his goal of becoming the first winter-sport athlete to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Fresh off competing in the Alberta World Cup where he finished amongst the top-40 against the best cross-country skiers in the world on Friday, the 28-year-old McKeever and his brother and guide Robin hopped a plane to Finland to join their Canadian mates on the Para-Nordic World Cup.

Jet leg certainly was no problem. The McKeever brothers handily won their first Para-Nordic World Cup title of the season after posting a time of 47 minutes 28.8 seconds in the men’s 20-kilometre skate-ski distance race for the visually impaired.

McKeever made history last year after skiing in his first-ever able-bodied World Championships where he finished 24th in a 15-kilometre skate-skiing race.

The McKeever brothers, who hail from Canmore, Alta., were joined on the podium Sunday by Russia’s Nikolay Polukhin and Andrey Tokarev were second at 51:15.7, while Germany’s Frank Hoefle and Walter Kuss were third (51:16.3).

The medal haul for Canada began long before the McKeever’s arrived in Finland. Colette Bourgonje won a gold medal in Saturday’s sit-ski sprint race. Bourgonje, who is from Saskatoon, also won two bronze medals in the opening IPC World Cup of the season last week.

A 15-year veteran of the Canadian Para-Nordic Team and five-time Paralympian, Bourgonje won two bronze medals at the 2006 Paralympics and two silver medals at the 1998 Games in Japan.

The IPC World Cup is divided into three categories for the various disabilities including: visually impaired, sit-skiing, and standing amputation and limb disability.

Cross Country Canada is the governing body of cross-country skiing in Canada. Its 45,000 members are athletes, coaches and officials, including members of the Canadian Cross-Country Ski Team and Canadian Disabled Cross-Country Ski Team. Cross-country skiing is Canada’s optimal winter sport and recreational activity with more than one million Canadians participating annually.

Complete Results at www.vuokattisport.fi