Para nordic star Brian McKeever enthusiastically led Canada into Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium today for the opening ceremony of the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in South Korea.
Click on the video above to watch live.
It’s McKeever’s first time participating in the opening ceremony. Although he owns 10 gold medals — and 13 overall — from four Paralympics, he usually competes on the first day of the Games.
“I’m so thrilled to see Brian chosen as our flag-bearer,” said CBC commentator Stephanie Dixon, a 19-time Paralympic medallist.
“He is an incredible leader and role model for all of our Canadian athletes, and as he’s heading towards the end of his career, this is just an incredible, incredible opportunity for Brian to reflect upon his career,” she said about the 38-year-old.
For described video, click on the player below.
McKeever, sporting Team Canada gear and a wide smile, walked into the stadium with 54 other Canadian athletes — the country’s largest-ever Winter Paralympics contingent — along with coaches and support staff.
Canada has won 135 Winter Paralympics medals, including 43 gold, since the inaugural Games in Sweden in 1976. The 2018 opening ceremony will air again at 7 p.m. ET today on CBCSports.ca, and on CBC Television at 8 p.m.
The ceremony began with a dizzying array of lights and pyrotechnics, followed by an elaborate drumming display meant to evoke the heartbeats of the competitors in what was called “Let’s Move.”
A group of South Korean Paralympians later carried in their country’s flags before the parade of nations officially began. The hosts later entered the stadium separately from the North Korean delegation; the International Paralympic Committee and representatives of the two countries met to discuss the possibility of marching under the same conditions as their Olympic counterparts, but a deal couldn’t be reached.
Coverage on all platforms
CBC and Radio-Canada will offer more than 600 hours of coverage of the Paralympics Games.
Broadcasts, which run today through March 18, will be available daily on CBC and Radio-Canada with live streams hosted on the CBC Sports app.
An additional 300 hours of live streams, across all six sports — alpine skiing, para ice hockey, cross-country skiing, biathlon, para snowboarding and wheelchair curling — will be available on the CBC site and the CBC Sports app.
Described video will be offered on all of CBC’s broadcasts and online streams of the same coverage.
