Brian McKeever

Brian McKeever (born June 18, 1979) is a Canadian cross-country skier and biathlete, who became Canada's most decorated Winter Paralympian when he won his 14th medal at the 2018 Winter Paralympics.[1] He finished the 2018 Games with a career total of 13 gold medals and 17 medals, making him the most decorated Paralympic cross-country skier ever.[2] McKeever claimed a 16th Paralympic gold medal in the men's para cross-country middle distance vision impaired race at Beijing 2022, drawing him level with the German para-alpine racer Gerd Schönfelder for the most men's Winter Paralympic wins.[3]

Brian McKeever
McKeever in 2014
Personal information
NationalityCanadian
Born (1979-06-18) June 18, 1979
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Sport
CountryCanada
SportCross-country skiing and biathlon
Disability classB3
PartnerGraham Nishikawa
Former partner(s)Robin McKeever
Erik Carleton
Coached byRobin McKeever
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Winter Paralympics 16 2 2
World Championships 19 3 1
Total 35 5 3
Representing  Canada
Paralympic cross-country skiing
Winter Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place2002 Salt Lake City5km Classical Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2002 Salt Lake City10km Freestyle Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2006 Torino5km Freestyle Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2006 Torino10km Classical Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2010 Vancouver1km Sprint Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2010 Vancouver10km Classical Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2010 Vancouver20km Freestyle Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2014 Sochi1km Sprint Classical Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2014 Sochi10km Freestyle Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2014 Sochi20km Freestyle Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2018 Pyeongchang20km Freestyle Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2018 Pyeongchang1.5km Sprint Classical Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2018 Pyeongchang10km Classical Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2022 Beijing20km classical visually impaired
Gold medal – first place2022 Beijing1.5km sprint visually impaired
Gold medal – first place2022 Beijing12.5km freestyle visually impaired
Silver medal – second place2002 Salt Lake City20km Freestyle Visually Impaired
Silver medal – second place2006 Torino20km Classical Visually Impaired
Bronze medal – third place2018 Pyeongchang4 x 2.5km Open Relay
IPC Biathlon and Cross-Country Skiing World Championships
Gold medal – first place2003 Baiersbronn5km Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2003 Baiersbronn10km Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2003 Baiersbronn20km Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2005 Fort Kent5km Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2005 Fort Kent10km Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2005 Fort Kent20km Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2009 Vuokatti10km Freestyle B1-3
Gold medal – first place2009 Vuokatti20km Classic Style B1-3
Gold medal – first place2011 Khanty-Mansiysk1km Sprint Freestyle Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2011 Khanty-Mansiysk10km Freestyle Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2011 Khanty-Mansiysk20km Classic Style Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2013 Solleftea1km Sprint Classic Style Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2013 Solleftea20km Freestyle Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2015 Cable20km Freestyle Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2017 Finsterau10km Freestyle Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2017 Finsterau20km Classic Style Visually Impaired
Silver medal – second place2009 Vuokatti1km Sprint Visually Impaired
Bronze medal – third place2017 Finsterau4 x 2.5km Open Relay
Biathlon
Winter Paralympic Games
Bronze medal – third place2006 Torino7.5km Visually Impaired Biathlon
IPC Biathlon and Cross-Country Skiing World Championships
Gold medal – first place2003 Baiersbronn7.5km Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2003 Baiersbronn12.5km Visually Impaired
Gold medal – first place2005 Fort Kent7.5km Visually Impaired
Silver medal – second place2009 Vuokatti12.5km Visually Impaired
Silver medal – second place2011 Khanty-Mansiysk12.5km Visually Impaired

Biography

McKeever began skiing at the age of three and started competing at thirteen. At 19 he began losing his vision due to Stargardt's disease.[4] At the 2002 and 2006 Winter Paralympics he competed in both cross-country skiing and biathlon. He won two gold medals and a silver in cross-country the first year and bronze medal for biathlon plus two gold medals and a silver for cross-country skiing in the later year.[5] For his performance at the 2006 Games McKeever was named Best Male at the Paralympic Sport Awards.[6]

Brian (right) and Robin McKeever after receiving their gold medals at the 2010 Winter Paralympics.

McKeever's older brother, Robin McKeever, competed as his guide in the Paralympics until 2014, when Erik Carleton took over.[7]

In 2010, he became the first Canadian athlete to be named to both Paralympic and Olympic teams.[8] At the 2010 Winter Olympics, he was going to compete in the men's 50km cross-country race, however Canada's coach decided to replace him with a skier who did well at an earlier event at the 2010 games and thus he did not become the first athlete in the world to compete in the Winter Paralympics and Winter Olympics in the same year.[9][10]

At the 2010 Paralympics McKeever won three gold medals for cross-country skiing.

McKeever repeated this triple gold medal performance at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, sweeping the men's visually impaired cross country skiing individual events for the second time.[11]

At the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, McKeever was Canada's flagbearer during the opening ceremonies.[1] His gold medal in the men's 20-kilometre cross-country ski freestyle event was the 14th of his career, to pass Lana Spreeman as Canada's most decorated Winter Paralympian.[1] McKeever won another two individual gold and a team relay bronze, his third triple gold medal sweep, for a career total of 13 gold medals and 17 medals in all, making him also the most decorated Paralympic cross-country skier ever.[2]

Prior to the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, McKeever announced that he would retire after the Games. He swept his three individual events for the fourth Paralympics in a row, including the men's visually impaired 20 kilometre classical, 1.5 kilometre sprint, and 12.5 kilometre freestyle—his 16th Paralympic medal and 20th overall.[12][13]

Awards and honours

In 2011, McKeever was inducted alongside his brother Robin into the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame.[14]

References
  1. Hall, Vicki (March 12, 2018). "Brian McKeever's 'relentless' drive leads to historic Paralympic gold". CBC Sports. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  2. Heroux, Devin (March 18, 2018). "Greatness abounds as Canadians smash country's Paralympic medal record". CBC Sports. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  3. "Beijing 2022: Takeaways from Para Cross-Country Skiing".
  4. "Paralympic Sport Awards". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  5. "Brian McKeever". Canadian Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  6. "Winners of Paralympic Awards 2007 Announced". International Paralympic Committee. 15 October 2007.
  7. Brian McKeever video profile by Paralympic Sport TV
  8. Kingston, Gary (23 January 2010). "Blind to limitations; McKeever becomes first winter Paralympian to qualify for Olympic Games". Vancouver Sun. p. G3.
  9. Cernetig, Miro (17 February 2010). "Legally blind skier embodies the Olympic ideal; Brian McKeever will be the first disabled athlete to compete in Winter Games and Paralympics". Vancouver Sun. p. D6.
  10. Associated Press, "Canada's McKeever to ski at Olympics, Paralympics" Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine, Rachel Cohen, 17 February 2010 (accessed 21 February 2010)
  11. Hicks, Brandon (March 16, 2014). "Brian McKeever makes history with more Paralympic gold". CBC Sports. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  12. "Golden goodbye: Canada's Brian McKeever victorious in final individual Paralympic race". CBC Sports. 2022-03-11. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  13. Lloyd, Owen (7 March 2022). "McKeever makes it 14 Paralympic gold medals after surging to long-distance cross-country victory". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  14. "Previous Hall of Fame Inductees". Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
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