March 15, 2010 (Whistler, BC) – It wasn’t just a gold medal ski effort; it was a beautiful one. Fans and journalists alike were astounded by the syncrinicity of Brian and Robin McKeever as they flew over the 5.150km course, as if they had choreographed their glide in unison. What a brother act this was.

After 20 kilometres that “was a lot of fun” according to Canada’s first gold medalist of the Paralympic Games, McKeever won by a significant 41.8 second margin over Nikolay Polukhin of Russia who took silver, and Vasili Shaptsiaboi of Belarus who took the bronze, 1:09:2 minutes back. Germany’s Wilhelm Brem was 4th, 1:27:3 minutes back, while his teammate Frank Hofle followed in 5th, 1:25:9 back. (Hofle actually beat his teammate in real time, but each time is adjusted, depending on the degree of visual disability the skier is categorized in. McKeever has some sight, so his real time is also his “adjusted” time.

“We were waiting to win. We’ve never won the 20km before. This has been eight years in the making. The last two Games we missed the gold. In Salt Lake we took silver and in Torino, Brian was sick for the 20km and we missed gold by nine seconds,” said McKeever after the flower ceremony. “Friends and family are here. They’ve been with us through this whole journey. This is a way we can give back for all of the support we’ve had.”

That support came out in droves from around the world to cheer for McKeever, who two weeks prior was told by Cross Country Canada, the day before the event that he would not be racing in the 50km classic at the Olympic Games – the event he won at Canada’s Olympic trials. “This certainly makes it a lot easier,” said McKeever who was the first Canadian athlete, and one of a select few athletes from around the world, to qualify for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. “We’ll never forget what happened, but this helps us move on.”

Robin McKeever said it was “a hard effort – the other athletes don’t see as well as Brian. The guys who were second and third are phenomenal. They may be borderline Olympic athletes in their countries too.” The McKeevers had to wait until everyone was through before their times were adjusted and they could celebrate. Only Hak-Su Im of Korea and Canadian teammate Alexei Novikov are in the same category as McKeever in terms of sight. Times can be adjusted as much as 15% for skiers who are completely blind. In terms of strategy and communication he said, “In the beginning we had a little [communication] to make sure Brian was happy with the pace I was setting. We starting with a pace we can hold – one Brian is comfortable with. After that we were going so hard I communicated with gasps. We compensate for each other. I have a faster turnover on the climbs, but Brian has other strengths.”

When asked about the safety issue of skiing without a guide in an Olympic event, Brian McKeever replied, “Most of the time I can train on my own. The 50km is a mass start race. I would have had lots of guides out there – they’d have been skiing against me, not with me.”

Collette Bourgonje’s finish the day before was also a motivating factor for the McKeevers. Robin is one of her coaches. “We were really inspired by Collette with her silver. It’s special when any of our team mates win. We were so pumped to see her do well. That helped us give back to the Canadian fans. We’re just lucky Alpine got canceled yesterday,” joked Robin, referring to the fact they won Canada’s first gold. “Hopefully we’ll inspire them now. It would be great if every skier could get this attention at the Paralympic Games. We’re doing that, helping the Paralympic movement to grow. We will definitely be trying in four years for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

Silver medalist Polukhin of Russia, who is also a biathlete and took the silver medal in the 3km pursuit on Saturday, said he will continue to compete in both events at these Games but, “Biathlon is much more difficult because if you miss the mark one time, you will be behind too much. I don’t like the risk so that’s why I like cross-country skiing more.” He is looking to the 10 km classic event in cross-country for a possible gold medal, and says “anything is possible” in the sprint. “There are always people fighting for the gold. In the first lap, we were leading, but we couldn’t get gold. This second medal means I am stable and good.”

Vasili Shaptsiaboi won his second bronze – he was 3^rd in the 3km pursuit biathlon event – saying “there was no trouble” in his race today, but there were “good competitors” that kept him off the gold medal podium. He added that there were no problems with the trails given it wasn’t snowing for a change and the sun was out.

Canadian Alexei Novikov and guide Jamie Stirling placed 13^th at 17:32:9 minutes back. No Americans competed.

Full results here.

Results (brief)

1. Brian McKeever (Canada) 51:14.7
2. Nikolay Polukhin (Russian Federation)     51:55.6
3. Vasili Shaptsiaboi (Belarus)     52:22.5

13. Jamie Stirling (Canada)