BEIJING (Reuters) - Canada’s Brian McKeever raced into the history books and grabbed his 16th Paralympic gold medal in cross-country skiing at the Beijing Winter Games in Zhangjiakou.
McKeever won the middle-distance race, and in doing so equaled the gold-medal haul of German former para Alpine skier Gerd Schonfelder-the most decorated male Paralympian.
Norwegian cross-country skier Ragnhild Myklebust holds the record as the most successful Winter Paralympian overall-22 golds and 27 total medals over five Games from 1988 to 2002.
McKeever had already bagged two titles in the visually impaired sprint and long-distance events this week at Zhangjiakou.
The 42-year-old made his Paralympic debut at Salt Lake City in 2002 and Beijing will be his last Games.
He played down the fuss over reaching Schonfelder’s record.
He said he loves having adventures with his guides and is proud of being able to demonstrate the level that Paralympic athletes can reach.
“The hard work is done in the offseason, we enjoy it. We love it. We love getting lost in the mountains and sometimes dragging our butts home after 10 hours,” McKeever said.
McKeever has a chance to win a 17th medal in the relay event on Sunday.
Sweden’s Zebastian Modin, 27, placed second and Ukraine’s Dmytro Suiarko won bronze.
Modin hailed McKeever’s achievement.