Brian McKeever strikes gold, Collin Cameron earns bronze at Para nordic World Cup

ALTENBERG, Germany — Brian McKeever and Graham Nishikawa won the gold medal in the men’s visually impaired race while Collin Cameron added a bronze in men’s sit skiing to highlight Wednesday’s short distance cross country skiing race races for Canada at the second stop on the Para nordic World Cup circuit.
 
The 40-year-old McKeever and his guide Nishikawa, both from Canmore, Alta., improved on Monday’s sprint silver clocking 14:28.9 on a 570-metre slushy loop which they circulated 10 times.
 
“The boys skied much better today under very marginal conditions,” said Robin McKeever, head coach of the Canadian Para nordic team. “Graham did an excellent job of getting them through traffic, so they didn’t have an accident, and the course suited them very well.”
 
Yury Holub, of Belarus was second in 14:56.1 and Sweden’s Zebastian Modin followed for third in 15:03.6.
 
Cameron, from Sudbury, Ont., also celebrated his second medal of the week placing third in his five-kilometre race in 14:41.8.
 
“I’m definitely a bit surprised today. This is my first podium in a non-sprint cross-country ski race,” he said.
 
Running out of steam on the eight-lap course, Cameron stuck to his race plan to lock up the final spot on the podium.
 
“It was a tough loop because there wasn’t really a place to recover, and the 180-degree corner was a tough one,” added Cameron, now with seven career World Cup medals. “I was pretty flat on the last two laps, so I thought I’d be in fifth or sixth. I definitely have some work to do on the endurance in these short, fast races.”
 
Russia’s Ivan Golubkov was first in 13:26.7. Daniel Cnossen of the U.S. was second in 14:32.9. Derek Zaplotinsky of Smoky Lake, Alta., was eighth.
 
Natalie Wilkie, of Salmon Arm, B.C., was the top Canadian woman on the day. Wilkie placed fourth in the women’s eight-kilometre standing race.
 
Brittany Hudak, of Prince Albert, Sask., was seventh while North Vancouver’s Emily Young was ninth.
 
Mark Arendz, of Springton, P.E.I., was eighth in the men’s standing.