Brian McKeever wins gold by continuously adapting and thinking outside of the box

Simply put, Brian McKeever has been able to continually improve and stay on top of his field because he is a master of adaptation. McKeever increased his career Paralympic gold-medal count to eight on Monday after winning Canada’s first gold medal of the 2014 Sochi Winter Paralympic Games in the 20km classic ski race.

McKeever is a without a doubt one of the greatest winter Paralympians in history. I chatted with him after his race and learned a few of the secrets in his ability to come out on top of the podium, time after time.

McKeever says he has the brain of an engineer and loves the science behind high performance. McKeever and his coach (also his brother and former guide, Robin McKeever) are completely aware of every aspect that could possibly affect his performance. By working with the top physiologists in the country, they design a specific training program to generate the greatest result. His physiologist will let him know how each workout should make him feel, and what measurable response he can expect. If he feels the right way and produces the expected response, he continues with his training plan. If he does not, they make changes.

But adapting an intricate training program is only the start in creating a gold-medal performance. There is an element of preparation that can only come from racing. Most of the races McKeever does in his preparation are against the highest level of able-bodied skiers. Unfortunately, while the Olympics were going on there were no international able-bodied races happening that he could use in preparation for the Paralympics. McKeever adapted and instead went to the 37^th annual Kananaskis “Cookie Race” at his home club just outside of Canmore, Alta. While there may not have been the high level of completion in the race, there was an abundance of support (and cookies) for the hometown hero.

The most important time for an athlete to begin critical thinking is at the Paralympic Games themselves. Thinking outside the box and adjusting race strategies could be the difference between winning or losing gold. Before his gold-medal race in Sochi, McKeever once against relied on his strength and changed his race strategy the night before his 20km race. He said he would not have won the race otherwise.

The change was something very rarely seen -- using two guides during a race. Typically, a visually impaired skier starts and finishes the race with the same guide. While McKeever was the only racer in the field to switch guides half way through race, there is nothing in the rules preventing it. McKeever and his primary guide Erik Carleton both got sick leading up to the Games during a training camp in Italy. Arriving in Sochi, neither were in their top shape and McKeever was unsure how hard either of them would be able to push themselves. Fortunately the McKeever brothers had already planned for this exact situation much earlier.

They wondered, what happens if Carleton ever got sick or injured before a race? Carleton plays such a crucial role in McKeever’s performance that they knew they had to come up with a Plan B. They needed to have a skier in the training program who could be a training partner and back up guide. Graham Nishikawa (or “Nish” as they call him) has been good friends with McKeever for years, and since they are around the same speed, he was the perfect fit. While consistency is beneficial in guiding, Carleton and McKeever were both still recovering from their illness and switching to Nishikawa half way through the race gave McKeever the added energy boost he needed win the gold.

McKeever said that since Nishikawa was fresh coming into the race he was setting a pace faster than he thought he could keep up. So many times he wanted to ask him to slow down, but he didn’t. The toughness and grit of a seasoned athlete kept him quiet while he put his head down and pushed through the pain. McKeever says both Nishikawa and Carleton play a role in his skiing that goes beyond physically helping him navigate through the race. He said knowing these guys are putting everything they have on the line to help him win the gold medal means so much to him. While the trio will only be awarded two gold medals, McKeever said both belong to his guides.

Winning Canada’s first gold medal was an incredibly exciting moment for all of the Canadian’s here in Sochi and at home. But while McKeever would love to go out and celebrate, his work here is far from over.

He still has three races left. Very shortly after the win, he put it behind him and started looking forward to the next race. He said in order to do that he has to refocus and treat each race as if it was the first. Since he has been doing multiple races internationally for the last 12 years, he knows the process well. I asked if his strategy has been the same over the years and he replied it’s actually still improving. For his next race he said the biggest focus at the moment is the weather. We have had rain and fog but expecting more snow in the next few days. This will change the snow conditions on the course considerably. By the time McKeever wakes up for his next race, his support team will have already tested the course and have four sets of race skis prepared for him. The skis he will use in the race will depend on what the weather does right up to the moment before the start of the race.

When asked who will be guiding him for his next race, McKeever said Nishikawa will most likely guide him in next race as it is a sprint (a specialty for Nish) and then likely both guides will race together again in the longer races, including the relay.

Stephanie Dixon is a 19-time Paralympic medallist, a seven-time Paralympic champion, and current world record holder in swimming. She competed in the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Summer Paralympic Games. She will be writing for Eh Game during the Sochi Paralympics.