Whitehorse guide and Canmore Paralympian capture two gold medals in Canmore; Dahria Beatty competes in Lillehammer; Yukon teams' results at the 2021 Everest Canadian Seniors Curling Championship

Brian McKeever of Canmore, along with guide Graham Nishikawa of Whitehorse, have captured two gold medals in the men's visually impaired category in the short distance classic-ski races at the World Cup season opener in Canmore.

McKeever, in his sixth Paralympic season, is the most-decorated Winter Paralympian, with 17 medals.

With Nishikawa guiding him, McKeever won the men's 7.5 kilometre race on Saturday in a time of 18:54.2.

“I’m surprised we won today. At our age now, every day is a little different and you never know how the body is going to react, but anytime you are competitive, that is a win for sure,” said McKeever, 42. “The young guys out here are getting faster every year which is good. It is getting way more competitive now. I’m very happy with the start and to know we are in the game.”

The two then teamed up to capture gold again in the men's 12.5 kilometre visually impaired middle-distance skate-ski race on Sunday in a time of 28:50.2, barely edging out a Russian team by 1.6 seconds.

McKeever and Nishikawa are competing in the Men's Sprint C, Visually Impaired event today. They have finished fourth in the Qualification round and have moved on to the Semifinals.

Meanwhile, Dahria Beatty of Whitehorse finished 16th in a women's 4x5 kilometre cross-country race in Lillehammer, Norway on Sunday in a time of 1:00:12.5, along with teammates Katherine Stewart-Jones (Chelsea, Que.), Cendrine Browne, (Saint-Jérôme, Que.) and Maya MacIsaac-Jones (Athabasca, Alta.).

In curling, at the 2021 Everest Canadian Seniors Curling Championship in Sault Ste. Marie, the Terry Miller rink lost a tough one to Ontario, 9-1, to drop to 1-2. They look to bounce back when they take on P.E.I.'s Philip Gorveatt tonight at 6 p.m. Eastern.

On the women's side, Rhonda Horte's foursome lost a close one to Newfoundland and Labrador's Laura Philip's rink on Monday, getting edged 6-5. Team Yukon gave up two in the eighth and final end, after leading 5-4, to drop their record to 1-1. Their next game is against Nova Scotia's Theresa Breen rink at 6 p.m. Eastern time tonight.