Legally blind since his late teenage years,Canadas Brian McKeever will achieve a long-cherished dream and a place in the record books when he represents his country at this months Vancouver Olympics. The popular cross-country skier from Canmore,Alberta,will become the first athlete to compete in both a Winter Olympics and a Paralympics and he fervently hopes to inspire as many people as he can,whether they are disabled or able-bodied. Brian is a standout athlete and a standout person, said 2006 Olympic silver medallist Sara Renner. Hes a really hard worker and never talks about his disability. He accepts nothing but his very best. He is a real inspiration. Cross country all-rounder Devon Kershaw knows McKeever very well after training with the 30-year-old countless times. You almost forget for a second that he can only see 10 per cent of what I can see, Kershaw said. You see him in the evening trying to read something and his face is right up against it. McKeever,who suffers from Stargardts disease,booked his place on the Canadian team for Vancouver by winning an able-bodied 50km race in Canmore in January. That victory ranks as one of his proudest moments. That was a big one, said McKeever. It marked a lot of different firsts maybe the most notable one being that it was actually my first win at that level as a senior in Canada. It took me 10 years to get my first win in the senior ranks,so I am pretty proud of that. It was four years of preparation for that particular event. And then to have it all come together on the day which is often the most difficult thing. McKeever,who has only 10 per cent vision which is limited to peripheral,will return to British Columbia for the Paralympics in March. He has already won seven medals at previous Paralympic Games,alongside his older brother Robin who acts as his guide. At the Olympics,however,he will have to race alone. I will miss Robin for sure but I also have a great team, McKeever said. No extra pressure His favourite event is the 50km classical but he would also like to compete in the 30km pursuit at Whistler Olympic Park. He feels no extra pressure,though,to perform well at the Games simply because he is poised to complete a unique Winter Olympics-Paralympics double. Other people will make that an issue, he said. Whats significant for me is that I have achieved a goal that I set out a long time ago. I hope that inspires other people with disabilities to get involved and active in sports. Maybe it can even inspire the able-bodied public. Asked to describe what he could and could not see,McKeever replied: My vision is very similar to something like flash bulb eye,where youve been exposed to a very bright light and youve got that lingering flash bulb blindness right after. Luckily for me,for spacial relations like getting around a ski course,all of thats mainly peripheral vision. If you asked me to read something,I am pretty useless and I dont know who is standing next to me as Im skiing past, said McKeever,who was declared legally blind before he was 20.
