McKeever to carry Canadian flag
PYEONGCHANG, Korea, Republic Of
Canadian Paralympic star Brian McKeever grew up without a television.
But days before the 1988 Winter Games opened in Calgary, his parents took their long-broken TV set in to have it repaired, and the crosscountry skier’s Olympic love affair began when Canada marched into the stadium for the opening ceremonies.
“You don’t necessarily understand what the Olympics are at the time, but if it’s important enough for mom and dad to get the TV fixed, it must be pretty big,” said McKeever, who was in Grade 3 then. “So we watched the whole Games from opening to closing . . . it’s always a big event, right?”
On Friday, the 10-time gold medallist will carry Canada’s flag into the opening ceremonies of the Pyeongchang Olympics, leading a Canadian team 55-athletes strong.
“I’m sure it will be (emotional),” McKeever said through a big grin. “Everything about sport is, good and bad. And I think that’s partly why we do this, to experience all the stuff, and so I’m looking forward to seeing what happens out there.”
McKeever, who’s never marched in the opening ceremonies in his four previous Paralympics — his racing schedule has been too demanding — posed for photos after Thursday’s announcement at Canada Paralympic House. He draped the Maple Leaf around his shoulders like Superman’s cape, his buffalo plaid baseball hat pulled on backwards.
The 38-year-old visually impaired skier from Canmore, Alta., has owned the top of the Paralympic medal podium, going undefeated in Games competition since 2006.
He was poised to make history in 2010 in Vancouver as the world’s first athlete to compete in both the winter Olympics and Paralympics in the same year. But Canada’s Olympic cross-country coaches opted to enter four other skiers in the men’s 50-kilometre race and not McKeever.