Canadian roundup: Brian McKeever golden in cross-country sprint
Canadians add 5 bronze medals in sprint, giant slalom events
Canada's Brian McKeever won gold in the 1.5-kilometre cross-country sprint visually impaired final at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
It was the 12th gold of McKeever's storied career and his second in Pyeongchang. The 38-year-old from Canmore, Alta., now owns 15 Paralympic medals and became Canada's most decorated Winter Paralympian earlier at these Games.
McKeever skied with guide Russell Kennedy in the sprint.
McKeever has a shot at completing a "triple treble" with a gold in the men's 10-km event; he won gold in all three individual men's races — sprint, 10 km and 20 km — at both the Vancouver and Sochi Games and is two-thirds of the way there in Pyeongchang.
Earlier, Mark Arendz tied for bronze in a thrilling finish in the men's standing sprint final.
It was the first-career Paralympic cross-country medal for the 28-year-old from Hartsville, P.E.I., who already owns silver and bronze biathlon medals from these Games. Arendz also claimed biathlon silver and bronze at the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi.
Arendz appeared to have a shot at gold in the race before Kazakhstan's Alexandr Kolyadin surged past the front three to claim gold. From there, the Canadian battled it out with Finland's Ilkka Tuomisto, with both skiers sharing third place in a photo finish.
Canada's medal count grew shortly afterward thanks to 17-year-old Natalie Wilkie. The Salmon Arm, B.C., native earned her first-ever Paralympic medal in the women's standing sprint, racing to a bronze medal. Fellow Canadians Emily Young and Brittany Hudak finished fourth and sixth, respectively.
Collin Cameron finished just three-tenths of a second off the podium in the men's sitting sprint. The 29-year-old from Sudbury, Ont., qualified in a tie for first for the final, but placed fourth following an intense finish to the event.
The finish in the men's 1.1km sitting cross-country sprint was CRAZY<br><br>🇨🇦Collin Cameron misses a medal in a 4-way race to the finish line <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Paralympics?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Paralympics</a><a href="https://t.co/yNsFOU2xIe">https://t.co/yNsFOU2xIe</a> <a href="https://t.co/LpAgzv3JBh">pic.twitter.com/LpAgzv3JBh</a>
—@cbcsports
Chris Klebl and Derek Zaplotinsky both finished sixth in their respective semifinals and didn't advance. Sébastien Fortier (17), Ethan Hess (27) and Yves Bourque (29) did not move past qualification; in the women's sitting sprint, Cindy Ouellet failed to advance to the semis, placing 17th.
Canadians earn 3 giant slalom bronze
Mac Marcoux bounced back after crashing out in his last two events by winning bronze in the men's giant slalom visually impaired event.
Marcoux, who won downhill gold with guide Jack Leitch earlier at these Games, rode a strong second run to a spot on the podium. The bronze was the fifth-career Paralympic medal for the 20-year-old from Sault Ste-Marie, Ont.
Mollie Jepsen's stellar Games continued with a bronze medal in the women's giant slalom standing event. The 18-year-old won super combined gold and super-G bronze earlier in Pyeongchang.
Calgary's Alana Ramsay, who previously won two Paralympic bronzes, finished in fourth; Frederique Turgeon (ninth), Mel Pemble (11th) and Erin Latimer (12th) rounded out the Canadian performances in the event.
Alexis Guimond posted the fastest run of the day in the men's standing event en route to a bronze medal. The 18-year-old from Gatineau, Que., used his strong second run to vault onto the podium after entering the run in sixth place.
Kurt Oatway and Alex Cairns placed 12th and 14th, respectively, in the men's sitting event.
Curling rink keeps rallying
Canada's wheelchair curling squad continued to live up to its reputation as comeback artists in Pyeongchang. Down 4-3 to the Neutral Paralympic Athletes heading into the final end, the rink played a flawless end to win 5-4 and improve its record to 6-2.
The Canadians then had to hold off a pesky Slovakian rink in Wednesday morning's draw. After going up 7-0, Canadian skip Mark Ideson saw Slovakia reel off five unanswered points before Canada scored two in the last end and win 9-5.
Canada is now tied for second at 7-2 with South Korea, behind the 8-1 Chinese rink.