Paralympic Perspectives: Robin McKeever

Robin McKeever of Canmore, Alberta, is a nine-time able-bodied Canadian national champion in cross-country skiing. He also competed as a member of the Canadian team during the Nagano 1998 Winter Olympic Games. McKeever now competes in cross-country skiing as the sighted guide for his brother, Brian McKeever. Together the McKeever brothers won two gold medals and one silver medal at the Salt Lake City 2002 Paralympic Winter Games. At the Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games, the duo won two gold medals and one silver medal in cross-country skiing, plus a bronze medal in the 7.5-kilometre biathlon competition. The McKeever team is on target to contend for multiple Paralympic medals at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. 

 

Guiding my brother Brian for the past seven years has led to some great times, some great races and some hilarious stories, but it has never been easy.  

The role of a guide seems rather simple — get the athlete to the finish line as fast as possible! Simple enough, however, this is dependent on the level of vision of the athlete you are guiding, which presents very different challenges. For a B1 classified skier (that is, totally blind), the guide — through verbal direction and without touching the athlete — has to keep the athlete on an undulating race course and away from competitors, trees, people, fences and television cameras along the course. Greatness is only achieved through an amazing bond of confidence between guide and athlete.

Thankfully, trust is not an obstacle for me and Brian, who is a B3 classified skier and has around 8 per cent vision on a reading chart. It doesn’t seem like he has much vision, but he can make his way around a course without a guide pretty darn fast, and at times he has left me begging for mercy and dry heaving. He has asked me to go faster than my body would physically allow. Ah yes, my guiding challenge is simple!

Racing as a team

My intro to guiding came at the Salt Lake IPC World Cup final in March 2001. The day before the race, Brian and I — skiing together for the thousandth time, but the first time racing as an official “team” — set out to ski the course together on an amazing, sunny spring day well above freezing. The Paralympic course (also the Salt Lake City 2002 Paralympic Winter Games course), which consisted of a ribbon of artificial snow through the Utah dessert, took me over one very slushy descent and then I discovered that Brian was suddenly no longer behind me. After waiting awhile, thinking he was just dawdling, I went back to find only his left ski and foot visible above the edge of the track. The rest of him was headfirst down a steep embankment! 

“Brian?” I called.

“Ah, down here,” was Brian’s reply. “Think you can help me get back up? I’m sort of stuck, wrapped around this tree, and it's muddy.”

“You okay?” I asked.

“I wasn't sure at first, but I think so,” Brian answered. “I caught my edge in the slush when I tried to pass ‘cause you were going too slow, and slid into this tree. If I let go of it now, I'm going to slide head first down the hill!”

I had to take off my skis and poles and climb down into the mud to help Brian out of there. He would be okay. Luckily, after a good massage and a lot of pain relievers, Brian recovered and we won the next day! 

Staying ahead

Seven years ago it was easy for me to guide Brian because I was near the peak of my racing fitness, and he is six years younger than me. Our communication on the race course was making sure the pace I set wasn't too high for Brian and that he was reasonably comfortable following. 

Last season, after working full-time for four years, starting a family and training less, Brian surpassed me in physical fitness. That’s when the communication on the race course consisted of me wheezing a heck of a lot and him telling me to move over ‘cause I was going too slow! 

Now with a new job, coaching from the Canadian Paranordic national cross-country ski team and having more time to train, I have transformed back into an effective guide for Brian. There will still be little communication in races, as I will be pretty much at max, but we are back racing faster than ever as a team.

 

Paralympic Perspectives is a celebration of the two-year countdown to the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. This series comprises personal stories written by Paralympians and leaders passionate about the Games. Visit vancouver2010.com every weekday from March 12 through March 21 for a new story of personal triumph and fierce competition.

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