McKeever earns historic medal
Brian McKeever becomes Canada’s most decorated winter Paralympian
PYEONCGCHANG, Korea, Republic Of — Medal No. 14 was both historic and incredibly hard. When Brian McKeever looks back at the race that made him Canada’s most decorated winter Paralympian, he’ll remember it as one of his most difficult.
The visually impaired cross-country skier opened the Pyeongchang Paralympics with a gold medal in the 20-kilometre event Monday, his 11th Paralympic gold medal and 14th overall. And in the moments afterward, the 38-yearold from Canmore, Alta., talked about the lungbusting final few kilometres.
“That one was hard. That one was really hard,” McKeever said. “I think we had a plan to ski comfortably into it and try and build towards the end, and I think I built too much in the middle. … I almost undid it because the last lap was very hard to keep the pace, but good enough in the middle that we built a nice lead and then we were able to hang on. But it was touch and go there at the end.
McKeever passed the late Lana Spreeman, an alpine skier who captured 13 Paralympic medals between 1980 and ’94.
McKeever, who carried Canada’s flag into Friday’s opening ceremonies, crossed in a time of 46 minutes 2.4 seconds with guides Graham Nishikawa and Russell Kennedy. The duo took turns guiding McKeever after each loop, a tactic Canada implemented four years ago.
“They did an awesome job today,” McKeever said on his guides. “It was super windy out there, so to be able to tuck in behind these big boys is important for me to get that rest a bit. They pushed hard, they skied really well, and they took care of me the whole way.
“But it was hard staying with these boys . . . Both Russ and Graham did such a good job today that I was hurting by the end, so it was thanks to them that we got this done.”
Nishikawa, a 34-year-old from Whitehorse, Yukon, shrugged off the praise.
“He always gives us too much props,” he said. “We have the hardest job here. He’s so fast, and we have to drive a really hard pace and into the wind, and so we’re trying to give her as hard as we can. But we know he’s always going to keep up. He’s Brian.”
McKeever could add to his medal total in Pyeongchang; he has two more events. SNOWBOARDER ALEX MASSIE CAPS LONG JOURNEY AT WINTER GAMES JEONGSEON, Korea, Republic Of — Wendy Massie heard the howls.
They pierced through what had been a picture perfect morning at the family’s summer home in Ontario’s cottage country.
From what she could make out from screams coming from the dock, her youngest son Alex had been cut badly. She bolted from the cottage and grabbed a rope from behind the boathouse to use as a tourniquet.
“It looked like a crime scene, a horror scene. Blood everywhere; pieces of bone,” Wendy said.
Seven years later, Wendy was part of the eightmember Massie family cheering section that hollered from the grandstand as Alex roared down the mountain at Jeongson Alpine Centre in snowboard cross at Pyeongchang.
The 22-year-old para snowboarder was eliminated Monday in the round of 16 in a thrilling race against New Zealand’s Carl Murphy. But the day was a victory for Alex and his family.
“I’m not mad at all,” Alex said. “I left it all out there.”
Alex was 16 when he lost his lower leg wakeboarding. He’d wanted one last run before breaking for lunch. Climbing into the water, there was some miscommunication with the driver, who put the boat in reverse, sucking Alex under it. The propeller hit him five times.
“It’s been a pretty crazy journey, but as long as you stay positive good things come. Never get down on it,” Alex said. “My big one I always say to kids is, you know the old thing about how the grass is always greener on the other side? The truth is, the grass is always greener where you water it. So if you want to have a good happy life, you’ve got to put in that work, and go out and water your lawn.”