Whitehorse guide captures two gold medals in Canmore
Brian McKeever of Canmore, along with guide Graham Nishikawa of Whitehorse, have captured two gold medals in the men’s visually impaired category in cross-country skiing at the World Para Nordic Skiing World Cup in Canmore, Alta.
By Morris Prokop on December 8, 2021
SPORTS SHORTS
Rewrite - Brian McKeever of Canmore, along with guide Graham Nishikawa of Whitehorse, have captured two gold medals in the men’s visually impaired category in cross-country skiing at the World Para Nordic Skiing World Cup in Canmore, Alta.
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 again to capture gold 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 1.4 seconds.
McKeever and Nishikawa then competed in the Men’s Sprint C, Visually Impaired event Tuesday. They finished fourth in the Qualification round and fourth in the finals.
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 Tuesday, the Terry Miller rink lost a tough one to Ontario, 9-1, They didn’t fare any better against P.E.I., losing 10-3 after giving up six in the fourth end to drop to 1-3.
On the women’s side, Rhonda Horte’s foursome won a close one over Cheryl Bernard’s Alberta rink on Tuesday, 5-4.
In the evening draw, Team Yukon lost a tough one to Nova Scotia’s Theresa Breen rink 9-2 in seven ends, evening their record at 2-2.
Today, Horte takes on Ontario while Miller plays Northern Ontario at 11 a.m.
Comments (1)
Up 2 Down 0
Louis Armstrong on Dec 12, 2021 at 4:24 am
What a wonderful way to do this sport.