ZHANGJIAKOU: Canada’s Brian McKeever raced into the historical past books and grabbed his sixteenth Paralympic gold medal in cross-country snowboarding on the Beijing Iciness Video games the day gone by. McKeever gained the center distance race, and in doing so equaled the gold-medal haul of German former para alpine skier Gerd Schonfelder-the maximum adorned males’s Paralympian.
Norwegian cross-country skier Ragnhild Myklebust holds the file as essentially the most a hit Iciness Paralympian general – 22 golds and 27 overall medals over 5 video games from 1988 to 2002. McKeever had already bagged two titles within the visually impaired dash and long-distance occasions this week at Zhangjiakou. The 42-year-old made his Paralympic debut at Salt Lake Town in 2002 and Beijing will probably be his ultimate Video games. He performed down the fuss over achieving Schonfelder’s file.
“To be completely truthful, it doesn’t imply a rattling factor,” McKeever stated, guffawing. “If the data occur to come back, nice. However that was once by no means the focal point.” He stated he loves having adventures together with his guides and is pleased with with the ability to display the extent that Paralympic athletes can succeed in. “The laborious paintings is finished within the offseason, we experience it. We like it. We like getting misplaced within the mountains and once in a while dragging our butts house after 10 hours,” McKeever stated.
McKeever has an opportunity to win a seventeenth medal within the relay tournament these days. Sweden’s Zebastian Modin, 27, positioned 2nd and Ukraine’s Dmytro Suiarko gained bronze. Modin hailed McKeever’s fulfillment. “He has supposed such a lot for this game,” he instructed AFP. “He has been operating on the entrance for twenty years and proven what para-athletes can do, and how briskly para-athletes can ski.” Modin stated it was once his supreme race this season and he was once taking a look ahead to going house to leisure. “We need to relax somewhat,” Modin stated.
‘Happy with my nation’
Ukraine’s crew the day gone by surpassed its earlier best-ever Paralympic consequence – 25 medals adding seven gold on the 2006 Turin Video games. The team-reeling from the trauma of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine-has controlled 28 podium finishes in Beijing, with additional medals up for grabs these days within the relay occasions. Oleksandra Kononova, 31, gained gold within the girls’s heart distance status cross-country race, sharing the rostrum with teammate Iryna Bui, 26, who got here in 3rd in the back of Canada’s Natalie Wilkie, 21. “I felt truly pleased with myself, about my nation who raised me and gave me the whole thing to accomplish right here at this sort of top stage. I considered my circle of relatives,” Kononova stated.
3 sisters at the podium
In Yanqing, there have been 3 Austrian sisters at the podium within the girls’s visually impaired slalom alpine snowboarding tournament. Veronika Aigner, 19, completed a 2nd Paralympic name in two days guided by means of her sister Elisabeth, 23. More youthful sister Barbara, 16, claimed silver. Their brother Johannes, 16, has additionally gained 4 medals on the Video games-including two gold. The 3 siblings have the similar congenital cataract situation as their mom. China’s wheelchair curling crew, the protecting champions, retained gold in an 8-3 fit in opposition to Sweden the day gone by afternoon.
The crew had a disappointing begin to their festival, blaming dropping their first couple of fits on nerves and drive to accomplish in entrance of a house crowd. However they bounced again and have been ready to disclaim Canada a place within the gold medal fit at Friday’s semi-final. Head trainer Yue Qingshuang has taken to making a song people songs to her crew sooner than they play. “I sought after the crew so as to chill out and create some roughly surroundings sooner than the sport, and assist them carry out their supreme,” she stated.
On Friday night time, Canada beat Slovakia 8-3 within the bronze medal fit. The Canadians haven’t overlooked out on a medal because the 2006 Turin Video games, and at PyeongChang additionally they claimed bronze. “Simply to be bringing house some {hardware}, it’s so particular,” skip Mark Ideson stated. “The guts’s simply pounding… simply breathless,” teammate Ina Forrest stated. In para ice hockey, China performed South Korea within the bronze medal fit the day gone by night time, and these days Canada will sq. off in opposition to the USA for gold.- AFP