March 6, 2009 (Whistler, BC) – Canada’s Brian and Robin McKeever stomped down some authority while leading the world’s best Para-Nordic skiers around the 2010 venue at Whistler Paralympic Park on Thursday. Brian, along with his guide and brother Robin, stormed ahead of the field to set a gold medal-winning time of 26 minutes 21.0 in the men’s 10-kilometre classic-ski race in the visually impaired category. The brother tandem from Canmore, Alta. finished nearly two minutes ahead of the next best finisher.

“We were really fast today and the more we talk about the race the better we realize it was,” said Brian McKeever, who along with his brother, have been recovering from rib injuries sustained during training. “We were able to shift gears today throughout the race which we haven’t been able to do this year and the skis were great so it was a perfect day.”

The McKeevers demonstrated their speed to the world before the race even started. Adjusting to the weather conditions, the Canucks made a last-minute change to their ski preparation which had Robin running from the wax cabin and back to the start line with minutes to spare before the starter gun went off. “We were a little panicked at the start of the race, but we did settle down nicely,” said Brian, who won two gold and two silver medals at the Biathlon and Cross-Country Ski IPC World Championships in January. “The focus of this event really is to test different things for next year.”

Legally blind with Stargardt’s disease, which is a form of macular degeneration that affects central vision, Brian McKeever is continuing his quest to become the first winter-sport athlete to compete at both the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. If he meets his goal, it will make him only the second athlete ever in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to accomplish the feat. Two years ago, Brian finished 24th in an able-bodied men’s 15-kilometre classic ski race at the World Championships.

The Canadians were joined on the podium by two Russian teams. Nikolay Polukhin and Andrey Tokarev were second at 28:17.0, while Evgeniy Safronov and Salavat Gumerov were third (28:33.1). Alex Novikov, of Kanata, Ont., and Vancouver’s Jamie Sterling, were the only other Canadians in the men’s visually impaired race and finished 10th at 38:57.1.

Eight other Canadians also competed on Thursday. Mark Arendz, of Springton, P.E.I., led three Canadian men in the standing category with a 15th-place finish at 32:40.1. Tyler Mosher, of Whistler, B.C., was 24th (39:36.), while Michael Sholte, of Wasaga Beach, Ont., was 25th (40:18.6). The race was won by Russia’s Oleg Balukhto at 28:03.0.

Lou Gibson, of Langley, B.C., was the only Canadian in the men’s sit-ski division and finished 24th (34:25.7). Irek Zaripov, of Russia, captured the gold at 27:20.2. Olena Iurkovska, of the Ukraine, won the women’s five-kilometre sit-ski race at 16:11.7. Shawna Maria Whyte, of Hinton, Alta., was eighth at 17:38.3.

Jody Barber, of Smithers, B.C., led the Canadian women in the standing division with an eighth-place finish at 20:29.1. Vancouver’s Mary Benson was 13th (24:14.7). The category was won by Luliia Batenkova, of the Ukraine, with a time of 18:17.7.

Robbi Weldon and Brian Berry, of Thunder Bay, Ont., finished as the top Canucks in the women’s visually impaired race with a sixth-place time of 18:35.7. Russia’s Tatiana Ilyuchenko and Valery Koshkin took home the gold with a time of 16:11.9. Vancouver’s Courtenay Knight and Regina’s Andrea Bundon teamed up to finish eighth (20:56.7), while Ottawa’s Margarita Gorbounova and Linnea Kershaw, of Sudbury, Ont., were ninth at 21:04.2

The 2009 IPC Biathlon and Cross-Country Skiing World Cup continues at Whistler Paralympic Park on Friday with the biathlon distance competitions.