Paralympic wake-up call: McKeever races to 16th career gold, Wilkie returns to podium

Brian McKeever ended his final individual Paralympic event in a spot he became very familiar with over six winter Games: the top of the podium.

The 42-year-old retiring great claimed the men's visually impaired middle-distance cross-country title on Saturday to add a 16th Paralympic gold to his stellar resume.

And he did it in style, posting a time of 33 minutes 6.6 seconds to finish 52.5 seconds ahead of silver medallist Zebastian Modin of Sweden.

Since the Salt Lake City Games in 2002, McKeever has captured 20 medals — becoming Canada's most decorated Winter Paralympian.

Now, the Canmore, Alta., native is also the male athlete with the most titles in Paralympic Games history, tied with German Para alpine skier Gerd Schoenfelder, who last competed in Vancouver 2010.

WATCH l McKeever captures 16th career gold to wrap up historic Paralympic career:

On Sunday at 10:55 p.m ET, McKeever has the opportunity to steer clear of Schoenfelder in the open 4x2.5-kilometre Para cross-country skiing team relay race.

"After 20 years of doing this, it's an honour to be a part of the Paralympics," McKeever said, when asked about the possibility in a post-event interview.

In Beijing, McKeever has also won gold medals in the men's visually impaired sprint race and middle distance Para cross-country events.

His latest title was Canada's eighth gold medal in Beijing. Canadian athletes have also earned five silver and 10 bronze for a total of 23, putting the country in third in the medal table behind China (58 overall) and Ukraine (28 overall).

Read more about McKeever's 16th Paralympic title.

Here's more of what you missed on Friday night and Saturday morning in the Beijing Paralympics:

Natalie Wilkie was the other Canadian athlete to make