CANADA’S PARALYMPIC CROSS COUNTRY SKI HISTORY
(To 2006)
by Jeff Whiting
The following pages briefly highlight the story of Canada’s participation in the cross country skiing events of the Paralympic Winter Games since 1976. While each Paralympics is a major story in itself, space permits but a short recap of the people, placings and efforts by Canada to field the best teams possible over the last 34 years.
In 1948, Sir Ludwig Guttmann organized a summer sports competition involving World War II veterans with a spinal cord injury in Stoke Mandeville, England. Winter disability sports started gradually after World War II, as large numbers of injured soldiers and civilians tried to return to their skiing activities. Early pioneers such as double-leg amputee Sepp Zwicknagl from Austria experimented with skiing using prostheses. Four years later, competitors from Holland joined the Stoke Mandeville Games and the international movement, now known as the Paralympics, was born. Olympic style games for athletes with a disability were organized for the first time in Rome in 1960. In Toronto in 1976, other disability groups were added and the idea of merging together different disability groups for international sport competitions was born. The first Winter Paralympic Games took place in Sweden in 1976.
The Paralympic Games have always been held in the same year as the Olympic Games. Since the Seoul Summer Games (1988) and the Albertville Winter Games (1992) they have also taken place at the same venues as the Olympics. On 19 June 2001, an agreement was signed between IOC and IPC securing this practice for the future. From the 2012 bid process onwards, the host city chosen to host the Olympic Games will be obliged to host the Paralympics as well. The next Paralympic Winter Games will take place in Vancouver/Whistler (2010), Canada.
Paralympic Winter Games
|
Year |
Location |
Disabilities |
Countries |
# Athletes |
Shared Venue |
Highlights |
|
Örnsköldsvik, Sweden |
Blind Amputee |
14 |
250 + |
No |
Demonstration event: sledge racing |
|
|
Geilo, Norway |
All locomotor disabilities |
18 |
350 + |
No |
Demonstration event: Sledge down-hill racing |
|
|
Innsbruck, Austria |
All locomotor disabilities |
22 |
350 + |
No |
Demonstration event at Olympics in Sarajevo: giant slalom; three track skiers |
|
|
Innsbruck, Austria |
All locomotor disabilities |
22 |
397 |
No |
sit-skiing introduced as event in alpine and nordic |
|
|
Tignes-Albertville, France |
All locomotor disabilities |
24 |
475 |
Yes |
Demonstration event: alpine and cross-country skiing for athletes with mental disabilites |
|
|
Lillehammer, Norway |
All locomotor disabilities |
31 |
1000 + |
Yes |
Sledge hockey introduced |
|
|
Nagano, Japan |
All locomotor disabilities |
32 |
571 |
Yes |
|
|
|
2002 |
Salt Lake City, USA |
All locomotor disabilities |
36 |
416 |
Yes |
Number of tickets on sale had to be augmented due to high demand |
|
2006 |
Torino, Italy |
All locomotor disabilities |
39 |
477 |
Yes |
Curling Introduced |
It was in the 1970s that cross-country skiing with a disability competitions started. In 1974, the first world championships were held in Grand Bornand in France, which featured alpine (downhill) and nordic (cross-country) skiing for athletes with amputations and visual impairments. Today, athletes from each disability class compete in each event. Visually impaired athletes ski with a sighted guide who directs them using an intercom or a loud speaker. Above-knee amputees use a single ski together with ski poles. Below-knee amputees use prostheses and compete in the same way as able-bodied skiers compete. Double-leg amputees or athletes with spinal cord disabilities use sit-skis. Athletes with arm amputations ski without poles.
Canada’s cross country team is Paralympic ranked 12th with 7 total medals. The women’s team has won all of the medals. Sandra Lacour (B2) of Canmore (guided by her husband) and Francine LEMIRE (LW2-9) of Corner Brook have both won a gold and bronze and Colette Bourgonje (LW10-12) of Saskatoon has won 2 silver medals. Colette Bourgonje has competed and medalled in both Summer and Winter Paralympics. At Salt Lake City, Colette will be competing in her 7th Paralympics – quite a feat! Sandra and Francine are both ranked 101st in multi-medals (gold, silver and bronze) and 118th by total medals. Colette is 128th in multi-medals and 118th by total medals.
RANKING OF CANADIAN ATHLETES ON THE WORLD SCENE BY MEDAL COUNT
|
|
1980-2006 |
1996-2009 |
1999-2009 |
|
|
Canadian Athletes |
Paralympics |
World Championship |
World Cup |
Grand Total |
|
MCKEEVER Brian |
7 |
9 |
31 |
47 |
|
BOURGONJE Colette |
4 |
6 |
22 |
32 |
|
LECOUR Sandra |
3 |
|
|
2 |
|
LEMIRE Francine |
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
UMBACK Kimmo |
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
LOVEGROVE Tricia |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
BRUNNER Mary |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
COYLE Dawn |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
SCHUSTER Janet |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
SHAW Judy |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
WHYTE Shauna-Maria |
|
1 |
32 |
33 |
|
Jody Barber |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
Weldon Robbi |
|
|
7 |
7 |
|
BOILY Jean-Thomas |
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
Knight Courtney |
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
Paul Kelsi |
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
Reid Joan |
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
Grand Total (17) |
23 |
17 |
98 |
138 |
RANK OF CANADIAN MULTIPLE MEDAL WINNERS
|
Rank |
Athlete |
Gender |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
Total |
|
20 |
M |
4 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
|
|
75 |
F |
2 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
|
|
80 |
F |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
|
140 |
F |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
|
167 |
F |
0 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
|
|
280 |
F |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
280 |
F |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
280 |
F |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
280 |
F |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
280 |
F |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
Grand Total |
10 |
|
9 |
4 |
9 |
22 |
RANKING OF CANADIAN ATHLETES BY IPC CLASSIFICATION BY MEDAL COUNT
|
Canadian Athletes |
1980-2006 |
1996-2005 |
1999-2007 |
|
|
Classification |
Paralympics |
World Championship |
World Cup |
Grand Total |
|
BLIND (B1-3 ) |
4 |
4 |
18 |
22 |
|
BLIND (B1) |
4 |
|
|
4 |
|
BLIND (B2) |
4 |
|
|
4 |
|
BLIND (B2-B3) |
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
BLIND (B3) |
3 |
5 |
20 |
28 |
|
SIT SKI (LW10-12) |
4 |
7 |
57 |
68 |
|
STANDING (LW2-9) |
2 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|
Grand Total |
23 |
12 |
95 |
130 |
ORNSKJOLDSVIK, SWEDEN, MARCH 1976
The first Paralympic Winter Games were held in 1976 in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden. There were competitions in alpine and nordic skiing for amputee and visually impaired athletes, and a demonstration event in sledge racing. Canada sent 2 athletes to the first Paralympics – Brent MUNROE and Lorna MANZER.
Complete Canadian Results (Class definition — disability):
|
Athlete |
Class |
Long |
Medium |
Short |
Relay |
|
MUNROE Brent |
LW4 |
|
|
17 |
|
|
MANZER Lorna |
LW4 |
|
|
1 |
|
GEILO, NORWAY, MARCH, 1980
The success of the first Games led to the second Winter Paralympics in 1980 in Geilo, Norway. Here, a demonstration event was held in sledge downhill racing. All classes of athletes with locomotor disabilities were able to participate.
Mary BRUNNER, Judy SHAW, Dawn COYLE, and Janet SCHUSTER combined in the Women’s Relay (4 x 5 km) to win 3rd. But the men’s team (consisting of Bill THOMPSON, Philip CROWSON, Stephen DAWES Stephen, and CONWAY William) were not able to answer the women’s challenge in the Men’s Relay 4 x 10 km. The team consisted of 9 skiers. The blind skiers were part of the Ski For Light (Canada) program. Ski For Light is an outreach program of Sons of Norway. The inaugural meeting of Ski For Light Canada was held in Edmonton, Alberta (November, 1978). Einar Berg, at that time the Secretary of the US Ski For Light, attended that meeting and was influential in the formation of the Canadian program. Although the Canadian Ski for Light actually began in 1978, the official incorporation took place in Edmonton on February 4, 1981. Kaare Askildt was elected President and Annar JACOBSEN became the Vice-President and head coach of the cross country team for the 1980’s.
|
Athlete |
Class |
Long |
Medium |
Short |
Relay |
|
THOMPSON Bill |
B1 |
19 |
17 |
|
6 |
|
CROWSON Philip |
B1 |
22 |
22 |
|
6 |
|
DAWES Stephen |
B1 |
27 |
23 |
|
6 |
|
CONWAY William |
B2-B3 |
21 |
18 |
|
6 |
|
BRUNNER Mary |
B1 |
|
10 |
10 |
3 |
|
SHAW Judy |
B1 |
|
12 |
12 |
3 |
|
COYLE Dawn |
B2-B3 |
|
8 |
8 |
3 |
|
SCHUSTER Janet |
B2-B3 |
|
9 |
|
3 |
|
ERIKSON Janet |
B1 |
|
|
13 |
|
INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA, MARCH, 1984
The 1984 Paralympic Winter Games were held in Innsbruck, Austria. For the first time, an exhibition event was held at the Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo and 30 male three-track skiers took part in the giant slalom event. The 1984 Paralympic team was the largest Canadian team so far with 6 women and 4 men (a full team would consist of 52 skiers). Again the best results were in the relay.
|
Athlete |
Class |
Long |
Short |
Relay |
|
LEMIRE Francine |
LW2-9 |
4 |
4 |
|
|
LECOUR Sandra |
B2 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
|
UMBACK Kimmo |
B2 |
|
7 |
3 |
|
KELLY (Barnes) Lorraine |
B2 |
12 |
12 |
|
|
RIDDELL Cathy |
B2 |
13 |
13 |
|
|
LOVEGROVE Tricia |
B1 |
|
|
3 |
|
VISSER Jim |
B2 |
21 |
20 |
4 |
|
KEHOE Tim |
B2 |
25 |
12 |
4 |
|
CROWSON Philip |
B1 |
13 |
14 |
4 |
|
RINKE Larry |
B1 |
16 |
19 |
4 |
INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA, MARCH, 1988
The 1988 Winter Paralympics were again held in Innsbruck, Austria. The Paralympics were not held at the same Olympic venue in Calgary, Canada, because of financial and recruiting difficulties. A blind cross country exhibition race was held at the Calgary Olympic Winter Games in 1988 at Canmore.
A total of 397 athletes from 22 countries took part in the 1988 Innsbruck Paralympics. The USSR competed for the first time. Sit-skiing was introduced as another event in both the alpine and nordic competitions. The 1988 Paralympics produced our best results with 2 first place finishes by Sandra Lacour (B2) of Canmore (guided by her husband) and Francine LEMIRE (LW2-9) of Corner Brook and a relay 3rd. ANNAR JACOBSEN was the head coach in the 1980’s and guided the team to these impressive results.
Ross Watson, a blind skier, also went on to climb Mount Everest in 1998. Francine Lamire practices family medicine in Corner Brook and became President of the Family Physicians of Canada.
|
Athlete |
Class |
Long |
Short |
Relay |
|
LEMIRE Francine |
LW2-9 |
1 |
n/a |
3 |
|
ANTOSIEWICZ Paulina |
B3 |
n/a |
4 |
|
|
LECOUR Sandra |
B2 |
n/a |
1 |
|
|
UMBACK Kimmo |
B2 |
n/a |
7 |
3 |
|
LOVEGROVE Tricia |
B1 |
n/a |
5 |
3 |
|
ROSENBERG George |
B2 |
n/a |
14 |
|
|
VAN DYKE David |
B2 |
n/a |
17 |
|
|
WATSON Ross |
B1 |
n/a |
17 |
|
Albertville, France, 1992
The 1992 Games were held in Tignes, Albertville in France. As there were no facilities for ice sport, only alpine and nordic events were held. For the first time, there were demonstration events in alpine and cross-country skiing for athletes with mental disabilities but Canada did not send athletes with a mental handicap until 1994.
In some ways it was a “changing-of-the-guard” as many of the team, including 2 time Paralympian by Sandra Lacour and Francine LEMIRE, that had represented Canada well for many years, hung up their skis at the end of the 1988 Paralympics. Both still race abled bodied loppets today in their respective provinces. Colette Bourgonje was recruited from wheelchair racing. Kaspar Wirz joined the team first as a guide in 1992 and then as the head coach after the 1994 Paralympics.
|
Athlete |
Class |
Long |
Medium |
Short |
|
BOURGONJE Colette |
LW10-12 |
|
6 |
6 |
|
DITTMAN Kris |
B1-3 |
12 |
|
13 |
|
HARRISON Joe |
LW2-9 |
10 |
5 |
10 |
|
PAGE Patrick |
B1-3 |
14 |
|
16 |
|
HARRISON Joe |
LW2-9 |
10 |
5 |
10 |
Lillehammar, Norway, 1994
In line with the change to hold the Olympic Winter Games every two years after the Olympic Summer Games, the next Paralympic Winter Games were held in 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway. Some 1,000 athletes were housed in the wheelchair-accessible Paralympic village. The opening ceremony on 10 March took place in the presence of the Queen of Norway. The 1050-meter-high mountain Hafjell, one of the toughest courses ever for athletes with disabilities, was the scene of the fast and dramatic events in alpine skiing. Lillehammer 1994 marked the debut of sledge hockey, the Paralympic version of ice hockey that quickly became a crowd-drawer. In the final, Sweden scored the only goal against Canada in penalty shootout to take the gold medal.
The nordic and biathlon events were held at the Birkebeineren Ski Stadium. The Norwegians claimed the gold in the nordic sit-ski relay. German athlete Frank Hofle won a clear victory in the men’s 5km race and also the biathlon in his class. Norwegian Anne Helene Barlund was fourth in the women’s 5km classic, but took a gold in the 15km classic. In the women’s biathlon, Marjorie Yvette Van de Bunt from the Netherlands won the gold in the amputee division, while Anne-Mette Bredahl-Christiansen from Denmark took the gold in the visually impaired category. Host country Norway dominated sledge racing, the Paralympic version of speed skating. Brit Mjaasund Oyen won the women’s 100m and 500m, while Lars Andresen took the gold in the men’s 100m and 500m. The closing ceremony on 19 March in Hakon’s Hall was attended by the King and Queen of Norway. The host team did itself proud by garnering the highest number of gold medals.
Joe Harrison of Saskatoon became the first Canadian to compete in the Paralympic biathlon event. Colette Bourgonje came oh so close to winning a bronze medal. In fact for 30 minutes, she did but the Italian team protested their skier’s classification. Italy won the protest and Colette was 4th. Colette had to wait until the 1996 World Championship in Sunne Sweden to capture Canada’s first sit ski medal.
|
Athlete |
Class |
Biathlon |
Long |
Medium |
Short |
Relay |
|
HARRISON Joe |
LW2-9 |
8 |
5 |
11 |
10 |
|
|
BOURGONJE Colette |
LW10-12 |
|
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
|
DITTMAN Kris |
B1-3 |
|
16 |
|
15 |
|
|
KELLY Lorraine |
B1-3 |
|
7 |
5 |
7 |
4 |
|
LOVEGROVE Tricia |
B1-3 |
|
6 |
7 |
6 |
4 |
Nagano (Hakuba), Japan, 1998
The 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan was the first Winter Paralympics to be held outside Europe, and helped to enhance the integration of athletes with disabilities and to deepen international goodwill. The Games were held from 5 to 14 March. His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince of Japan officiated at the opening ceremony on 5 March. During the 10 days of competition, a total of 34 events took place across the 5 sports: alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, biathlon, ice sledge racing and ice sledge hockey. Some 1,146 participants from 32 countries were at the Nagano Games, including 571 athletes and 575 officials. Norway repeated its success at the 1994 Games by topping the medal table with 18 golds. Germany was close behind with 14 gold medals, followed by the United States with 13 gold medals.
The Nagano Games clearly demonstrated rising media and public interest in Paralympic winter sport. A total of 151,376 spectators were recorded during the Games, including 15,634 for the opening and closing ceremonies. A total of 1,468 media representatives (press, cameramen and broadcasters) covered the Games. The official Games website recorded a total of 7.7 million hits during the course of the Games, with 1 million hits coming in on the first and second days of competition.
Colette Bourgonje won 2 silver medals — the first medals for a sit skier. The City of Saskatoon honored Colette by naming a street after her right next to Konihowski Road and Le May Crescent and Dave King Park. For the first time, ID (Intellectually Disabled) athletes competed as a full medal sport. Shauna Whyte, previously a junior biathlete champion, competed for the first time as a sit skier.
Frank HOEFLE (Germany) and Ragnhild MYKLEBUST (Norway) continued their dominance of the Paralympics. Ragnhild MYKLEBUST has won 11 gold medals since 1976. Frank HOEFLE has won 12 medals (7 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze) and is ranked 3rd. They both will be competing in the Salt Lake City Paralympics looking for more gold medals. Shauna Whyte, and Colette Bourgonje of Canada hope to prevent Ragnhild MYKLEBUST from winning more gold. Brian McKeever, guided by his Olympian brother Robin, hope to prevent Frank Hoefle from winning more gold medals.
Marg Tibbo, long time Team Manager, retired from the Paralympic Team in 1998. Cross Country Canada honored her by awarding the Firth Award to her. The Firth Award recognizes a woman who has made an outstanding contribution to cross-country skiing in Canada. Marg Tibbo “Muggs” has a passion for working with disabled athletes and children. Since the early 1970’s, Marg has created participation opportunities for disabled people ranging from grass roots programs to international level competitions. Joyce Wityshyn, Head Coach of the Nagano Team, was one of fourteen coaches that were selected to receive Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Awards in 2001. The Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Awards are presented to coaches whose athletes or teams win a medal at an Open World Championship, an Olympic Games or Paralympic Games.
|
Athlete |
Class |
Biathlon |
Long |
Medium |
Short |
|
WHYTE Shauna |
LW10-12 |
8 |
10 |
11 |
10 |
|
BOURGONJE Colette |
LW10-12 |
|
6 |
2 |
2 |
|
KELLY Lorraine |
B1-3 |
|
16 |
13 |
13 |
|
ROBINSON Jason |
ID |
|
18 |
|
23 |
|
BAUCHE Wayne |
ID |
|
|
|
26 |
|
HALL Brita |
ID |
|
|
|
13 |
2002 Soldiers Hollow, Salt Lake City March 7-16
Hoefle and McKeever battled it out for a gold medal that neither one took home
By Jay Bartlett, staff writer
Frank Hoefle of Germany and Canadian Brian McKeever (pictured) have been awaiting the opportunity to compete head-to-head. In the short and long distance events, each won gold in their respective visually impaired classes. Not until the long distance race, the last event of these Games, would the classes be combined to see who is really the stronger of the two.
For McKeever, he has viewed Hoefle as his toughest competition from the start, despite competing in different classes until today. He made his feelings known following the middle distance race earlier in the week:
“For us, we would like to see all the groups come together, and it will be more competitive.”
Due to the staggered start, Hoefle crossed the line ahead of McKeever. Collapsing in exhaustion, all he could do was wait to see how quickly McKeever would get to the finish. Out on the course, the Canadian knew he had to give an all-out effort to beat his German rival. Before a standing, screaming crowd, he sprinted the length of the stadium, crossing the line with an 8.7 second advantage over Hoefle. McKeever’s guide and older brother, Robin, said to his exhausted sibling, “Now it’s just a waiting game” – there were still athletes on the course. For Hoefle and McKeever, their much anticipated showdown was upstaged by Russian Valeri Kouptchinski, who didn’t think he could do better than bronze, but took gold, relegating McKeever and Hoefle to silver and bronze, respectively.
Regardless of today’s outcome, the rivalry between the Canadian and the German will continue.
“We got beaten today by a guy who even beat Frank Hoefle. That’s impressive. We have to be really happy with today’s race,” said McKeever.
Hoefle agreed:
“Kouptchinski surprised us all I think. I am very happy about my achievements. Sure I would like to have beaten McKeever, and some medals could have been higher.”
Wild ride
Shauna Marie Whyte finished the course in an unusual, but impressive manner – backwards. Canada’s Shauna Marie Whyte carried lots of speed into a difficult right hand turn at the bottom of the steepest section of the long-distance sit-ski course. By the apex of the curve, Whyte realized that she had too much speed to successfully negotiate the turn. Skidding around the corner, Whyte tried in vain to straighten out her course. Letting the skis slide, Whyte did her best to maintain momentum down the course. In an unconventional, yet highly successful tactic, Whyte decided to ski the remainder of the descent backward. By doing so, she didn’t lose time or momentum by stopping to turn around. In a full backwards facing tuck, Whyte rode out this wild ride with minimal impact on her time. At the finish, the Canadian looks no worse for the wear.
Tanja Kari completes her last race nearly four minutes ahead of the pack
By Jay Bartlett, staff writer
Tanja Kari has been the pride of Finland during these VIII Paralympic Winter Games. On the final day of competition at Soldier Hollow, she won gold in the long distance event, completing her sweep of the individual cross-country races. In addition, she led her team to the bronze in the relay. Unfortunately for nordic skiing fans, this will be Kari’s final Paralympic appearance. Her illustrious career began with a gold medal at the 1988 Innsbruck Games. Since than, Kari has added ten additional golds, one silver and one bronze.
In her final Paralympic race, Kari was in a class by herself. As she entered the stadium for the last time, she proudly waved the Finnish flag, which was given to her by a fan along the course. Carrying the flag didn’t slow her down, but rather lifted her emotions – she crossed the line nearly four minutes ahead of silver medalist Marjorie Van de Bunt. Kari’s retirement may come as a relief for Van de Bunt, who finished behind the Finnish phenom in all three individual nordic races during the 2002 Games.
Team:
- Brian McKeever, Calgary – Guide: Robin McKeever of Calgary
- Shauna Maria Whyte, Hinton
- Colette Bourgonje, Saskatoon
Coaches:
- Head Coach – Kaspar Wirz, Saskatoon
- Team Manager – Jeff Whiting, Saskatoon
- Assistant Coach – Margaret Barron, Calgary (previously St. Johns)
- Wax Tech – Ian Daffern, Calgary
|
Athlete |
Class |
Biathlon |
Long |
Medium |
Short |
|
MCKEEVER Brian |
B1-3 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
BOURGONJE Colette |
LW10-12 |
|
4 |
6 |
9 |
|
WHYTE Shauna |
LW10-12 |
4 |
5 |
9 |
6 |
2006 Torino, Italy March 12- 20
Brian McKeever with guide and brother Robin McKeever captured Canada’s first medal today, and it was gold! The McKeever brothers (Canmore, AB) bounced back from a disappointing biathlon to dominate the 5 km Freestyle in Cross Country with a time of 11:35.1, winning gold in the Blind category with a commanding 17.4-second lead.
“Our strategy was right; Robin led the way, I drafted behind, and when he faded I pulled out to sprint the last 500m of the course”, said Brian McKeever after the race. “It couldn’t have been better.”
In extreme wind conditions, the dynamic Canadian duo headed into the race with a plan. Robin, guiding his younger brother, would cut the wind for Brian to conserve energy. As planned, Robin pulled out to let Brian finish the race alone. As a less severe impairment (B3), the guide is not obligated to complete the race. Double gold medalists in Salt Lake City, this is Brian and Robin McKeever’s third Paralympic Games Gold medal.
At Pragelato Plan, Brian McKeever was back on the course following his gold medal performance earlier this week. He did it the hard way: missing 7 of his 10 shots, Brian’s exceptional skiing skills and speed enabled him to stay close to the leader, finishing the race with a time of 22:59.4, good enough for a bronze medal. Brian won gold medal earlier this week in cross country.
“This was definitely more of a skier’s race,” McKeever said following his race. “The best biathletes definitely won today, but we were able to make up some time on that last lap and win bronze.” In Biathlon, athletes have to do a penalty loop of 200m for each missed shot, which takes an average of 25-30 seconds to complete. This win was a testimony to the sheer skiing power of the McKeever brothers.
Brian McKeever with guide and brother Robin struck gold again in the 10km freestyle cross country event. Well on the way to becoming the athletes of the games, the dynamic duo has won three medals for Canada, a bronze and two gold. Teammate Collette Bourgonje (Saskatoon, SK) captured bronze in the 5km Sit-Ski race. “Today was a perfect day,” Brian McKeever said. “We’re really confident in Classic races and maybe a little more confident than in the skating events. It’s good for our heads, I think, to know our next race is a Classic.” When asked how much they have left in the tank, Brian McKeever replied “About 20 more km, I’d guess” in reference to the brothers’ last race of the Games, Sunday’s 20 km Cross country.
“It’s awesome to be on the podium.” said Bourgonje. “This is such a tough group to even make the top 5 and I’m so glad I wasn’t 4th.” It was the third medal of her Paralympic career as she brought home two silvers from Nagano in 1998. Colette Bourgonje (Saskatoon, SK) took home her second bronze medal of these IX Paralympics in the Women’s Sitting 10km Classic Cross Country event. Bourgonje finished in a time of 32:18.8, 1:24.8 behind gold medallist Liudmilla Vauchok of Belarus.
“For me to get on the podium in this group of Ukranians and Russians and Belarus was huge, so I’m very happy to be on the podium,” Bourgonje said. “It was a tough race. I worked it hard. I tried not to go out like a rabbit and I think I paced the race better than I paced any of the other races.”
Bourgonje is a five-time Paralympian.
Brian McKeever and his brother/guide Robin took home the silver medal in the Visually Impaired class of the 20 km Cross Country Classic. The brothers’ 4th medal of these Paralympics (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) was Canada’s 13th and final medal of the Torino Paralympics.
“We raced a good race,” Brian McKeever said at the finish. “We just fell a little short.” The brothers from Canmore, AB finished 11.7 seconds behind the gold medalists from Ukraine. “I can’t be disappointed in the result,” Brian McKeever said. “That’s all I had. I sure didn’t have 11 more seconds in me.”
Canada reveled in a harvest of medals of every colour. The Canadian Team has posted 13 Medals: 5 gold, 3 silver and 5 Bronze, putting us in 6th place overall in the final standings. Team Canada finished in 6th position with 13 medals, including 5 gold. Team Canada was the only country to win medals in all four sports, with Gold in Hockey, Curling, Nordic and Alpine. 25 of the 33 Canadian athletes in Torino will return with medals. 11 Canadian athletes who were competing in their first Paralympic Games won medals for Canada. All of the Canadian athletes who have won medals at previous games and who competed in Torino won medals. The Nordic Team won nearly 50% of the Canadian medals.
Coaches:
- Head Coach – Kaspar Wirz, Saskatoon
- Team Manager – Bjorn Talyor, Canmore
- Assistant Coach – Celine Feagan , Calgary
- Wax Tech – Ian Daffern, Calgary
|
|
|
Biathlon |
|
Cross Country |
|
|
|
Athlete |
Class |
Long |
Short |
Long |
Medium |
Short |
|
MCKEEVER Brian |
B1-3 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
WHYTE Shauna |
LW10-12 |
4 |
DNF |
7 |
8 |
7 |
|
BOURGONJE Colette |
LW10-12 |
|
|
3 |
3 |
6 |
|
BOILY Jean-Thomas |
LW10-12 |
|
|
34 |
26 |
24 |
|
PELLETIER Jimmy |
LW10-12 |
|
|
29 |
28 |
29 |
