Fans upset that blind skier cut from Olympics

From Morethanthegames.com:

Brian McKeever (pictured) admits he is desperate to put his nightmare Winter Olympics behind him with a golden performance at the upcoming Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

The blind cross country skier was aiming to make history as the first athlete to take part in both the Winter Olympics and the Winter Paralympics but was left out of the four Canadian selections for the 50km mass start race last month.

Teammates Ivan Babikov, Devon Kershaw, George Grey and Alex Harvey were eventually picked ahead of him with Kershaw the highest-placed Canadian finishing just outside the medals in fifth.

The decision drew criticism from some Canadians with both Babikov and Grey receiving hate mail from angry fans who believe the skier should have been given his chance to compete.

And as he prepares for his third Winter Paralympics, McKeever conceded he is struggling to come to terms with the incident.

"It was quite the blow and I'm still not over it. It's probably going to take some time," McKeever told the Calgary Herald.

"It's upsetting for all of us that my teammates are getting hate mail.

"It was the administration that made the call and it was them that handled it or mishandled it, so it's too bad that my teammates have to bear the brunt of this decision.

"I am just looking forward to getting out there and racing. I try not to get involved in the politics. I can't wait to go out there and do my job."

The 30-year-old, who has Stargardt's disease leaving him with only 10 percent vision, made history by qualifying for the Canadian Olympic team when he won a 50km time trial in Canmore last December.

And while Cross-Country Canada insist they were right to select the four athletes they believed had the best chance of winning medals, McKeever admits he didn't know the decision until the last minute.

"Maybe they just didn't realise what was going to happen, but it was a decision that was delayed until the last day," he added.

"They could have put it out there that it wasn't guaranteed I would race, or just made a decision about who would race earlier.

"It ended up being a story that they weren't ready to handle."

McKeever, who won two gold medals, a silver and a bronze at the Winter Paralympics in Turin four years ago, will make his first appearance in the biathlon with brother Robin acting as his guide on Saturday.