Brian Mckeever to compete Sunday

I've dedicated a few posts to Canadian Olympic cross country skier Brian Mckeever.  He is 30 years old, has Stargardts disease, is legally blind, and is competing in both the Olympic and Paralympic games this winter.  He will be the first athlete in history to do so.

He is competing in the Men's 50km Mass Start Classic, It starts Sunday February 28th at 9:30 AM PSD.  If you are on the east cost set your DVR's.

Again we'll be cheering for him even though he's Canadian.

Update: (3/2/2010):  Unfortunately according to Wikipedia Brian did not compete on Sunday. 

however Canada's coach decided to replace him with a skier who did well at an earlier event at the 2010 games and thus he will not become the first athlete in the world to compete in the Winter Paralympics and Winter Olympics in the same year.

Brian Mckeever will compete and make history!

I posted earlier that Brian Mckeever was attempting to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic games this winter.  Well it is now official he has quallified to be a part of the Canadian Cross Country Olympic team.  Brian is 30 years old and suffers from Stargardts disease.  Here is an excerpt from the article.

The 30-year-old Canmore, Alta., resident will be selected to Canada's Olympic cross-country ski team on Friday, making him the first athlete to compete at both the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Mr. McKeever, who suffers from Stargardt's disease and is legally blind, stamped his double pass to Whistler by winning an able-bodied 50-kilometre Haywood NorAm race last month in Canmore. The race was one of four Olympic trials established by Cross Country Canada.

We'll be rooting for him, (even though he's Canadian).

Click the title for the full article.

Happy Holidays - Brian McKeeve attempts to compete on both Olympic and Paralympic games this winter

For the holidays I thought I'd post this.  Its an brief article explaining Brian McKeever, a Canadian cross country skier with Stargardt's disease.  He is legally blind and attempting to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic games this winter.  Here is the article in full.

Brian McKeever of Canmore, Alta., moved closer Tuesday to becoming the first ever winter athlete to compete in an Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The 30-year-old, legally blind cross-country skier dominated the 50km Haywood NorAm individual-start classic race in his hometown, part of a series of races Cross Country Canada is using to determine its final Olympic spots that will be announced in January. McKeever suffers from Stargardt's disease, which has left him only with 10 per cent of his vision, all peripheral. In 2007, he finished 21st in a 15km skate-ski race at the able-bodied world championships. "That is all I had [Tuesday] and I hope it is enough to convince the selection committee that I deserve a spot on the Olympic team," he said in a release. "I feel satisfaction right now."
Five summer-sport athletes have competed in both the Paralympics and Olympics.

Art by the legally blind

The New York Times has a 10 slide gallery spotlighting Art and Photographes from the legally blind.

Click the title to see the slides.

Near blind can be Oceanographers.

This  article is interesting for a few reasons.  It is about Amy Bower who is an oceanographer despite having macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.  One affecting her central vision, and the other her peripheral vision.  The article is an inspiration for those with low vision who think they may not be able to perform a particular job.   It is also a testiment to the technology avialable to help those of us with low vision.
In Amy's words

"For anyone who finds themselves in the situation I was in 25 years ago, they need to learn to become a very strong self-advocate," Bower said. "And hopefully, you want to pursue something that you're passionate about, because you're going to need the energy that comes from such a passion to push through the challenges."

Click the Title for the full article and a short video.

The blind can climb mountains

This article follows Justin Grant who has Stargardt's disease and a team of blind, low vision, and sighted climbers who go on expedition to climb mountains.  They have climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt, Rainier, and up Machu Picchu.  The article explains how Justin got into climbing, as well as introduces the rest of the team, all of which are members of Team Sight Unseen. It shows that adversity drives people to acheive.  So having a disability is in many ways a benefit.  I don't agree with Justin when he said "If there was a cure for me, I’m not even sure I would want it."  I feel that my disability has given me a sense of drive that I may not have had otherwise, but getting a cure wouldn't remove that drive.

Click the Title for the full article plus some photos and a video