A day after flying into Finland, Brian McKeever and Erik Carleton of Canada nabbed gold in the first race of the IPC World Cup finals in Vuokatti on Thursday, the 1.2 k visually impaired sprint.
On Tuesday, McKeever and Carleton drove straight to the airport after competing in the 15 k freestyle event at the Canadian Ski Championships. Carleton placed second on Monday in the 10 k classic and eighth on Tuesday. McKeever was 15th on Monday.
According to Cross Country Canada, the two childhood friends won three silver medals and a gold earlier this year.
“I was a little jet lagged, but we had a good day today,” McKeever said in a press release. “I came here with a good game plan that we executed really well today. Erik skied very tactical. We decided to double-pole the final which paid off because it started dumping snow.”
McKeever and Carleton qualified second for the head-to-head heats and proceeded to win their quarterfinal and semifinal.
Alex Kochon
Alex Kochon (alexkochon@gmail.com) is a former FasterSkier editor and roving reporter who never really lost touch with the nordic scene. A freelance writer, editor, and outdoor-loving mom of two, she lives in northeastern New York and enjoys adventuring in the Adirondacks. She shares her passion for sports and recreation as the co-founder of "Ride On! Mountain Bike Trail Guide" and a sales and content contributor at Curated.com. When she's not skiing or chasing her kids around, Alex assists authors as a production and marketing coordinator for iPub Global Connection.
