OTTAWA – Para nordic skier Brian McKeever of Canmore, Alta., Canada’s most successful winter Paralympian, is a finalist for the 2019 Laureus World Sportperson of the Year with a Disability Award.
The Laureus World Sports Awards are the world’s international sports awards. The winners are determined by the world media and honour the highest achieving men, women and teams in world sports.
LeBron James, Novak Djokovic and Real Madrid are among other nominees in various categories. Snowboarder Mark McMorris is the only other Canadian on a ballot for the Comeback of the Year.
‘’It is a massive honour to be among the nominees for the Laureus World Sportsperson of the year with a disability,’’ tweeted McKeever. ‘’Definitely a career highlight!’’
McKeever, who made history in 2010 when he was named to both the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic teams, retained his position as the top visually impaired cross country skier in the world in 2018.
He became Canada’s most decorated Winter Paralympian of all-time in PyeongChang with his gold medal in the 20KM cross-country race. He added to his total with two golds in the 1.5KM sprint and 10KM race, and a bronze in the 4x2.5KM Open Relay with his guides Graham Nishikawa and Russell Kennedy.
He now holds 17 Paralympic medals, 13 of which are gold.
The other finalists for the Laureus award in his category are Para alpine skier Henrieta Farkasova of Slovakia , amputee runner Markus Rehm of Germany, Para rower and Para nordic skier Oksana Masters of the U.S. wheelchair tennis player Diede de Groot of the Netherlands and boccia player Grigorios Polychronidis of Greece.
The only other Canadians to win a Laureus Award since it was launched in 2000 are wheelchair racer Chantal Petitclerc in 2005 and Dick Pound in 2008.
The winners will be announced February 18 in Monaco.
