Canada Wins First Paralympic Gold
March 15th, 2010

A fantastic story has come out of Vancouver, British Columbia today as the Paralympic Games are in full swing. As reported last week on the Synergy Marketing Consultants Blog, the Paralympic Games are most certainly something to be celebrated. Incredible athletes, who completely destroy the term “disability”, showcase their amazing athletic skills at this event, which is generally overshadowed by the Olympic Games.

Nevertheless, as The Toronto Star's Daniel Gigard reports today, Canadian skier Brian McKeever has given Canada something to be proud of yet again. Today, McKeever became the first Canadian to win gold at the Paralympics on home soil. Not only was his victory in the 20-kilometre race an outstanding acheivement, but it is that much more astounding considering that McKeever is, indeed, blind.

With his older brother Robin as his guide, McKeever finished at a time of 50:14.70 which was an amazing 40.9 seconds ahead of the silver medalist, Nikolay Polukhin of Russia. A Canmore, Alberta native, McKeever approached the finish line at Whistler Paralympic Park to be greeted by a large crowd of fans. They were, however, instructed by games officials to keep silent so that the competitors could listen to their guides.

At present, Canada sits third in the medal standings with six: two golds, three silvers and a bronze. Russia, it seems, has taken the Paralympic Games by storm with 15 medals and counting – six of them gold.

While McKeever's gold medal win is an awesome acheivement, TSN.ca – The Sports Network's website - reminds us that Canadian Colette Bourgonje won the first medal of any colour for Canada at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Games today. In the women's sitting 10km cross country ski race, Bourgonje took the silver medal in a time of 31 minutes, 49.8 seconds.

Even though Bourgonje was leading the race at the first interval, she fell just short of Belarus' Liudmila Vauchok at the 3.3 kilometre mark. Vauchok took the gold by finishing in a time of 30:52.9. Ukraine's Olena Iurkovska took the bronze medal.

Said Bourgonje after the race: “Wow - I'm shocked and I can't believe it. I don't think it has sunk in yet. I am still racing because I wanted to compete at a Paralympics in Canada and I'm just so proud to have done this in front of Canadians. I share this medal with all of Canada.”

For those who may never have heard of Bourgonje, she is a phenomenal athlete. At an incredible 48 years of age, she has won medals in both the summer and winter Paralympic Games. She, at one time, competed in cross country running until she became paralyzed following a car accident. Evidently for her, both age and adversity mean nothing. As she said, “attitude is everything. I live by that every day and I think that came through today.”

Just as the nation was throughout the Winter Olympics, Canada has every right to be very proud today as our Paralympic athletes define how to overcome hardships and prove themselves as champions.