Retiring Paralympian Brian McKeever says it's time for teammates 'to have the spotlight'

It's been nearly a week since cross-country skier Brian McKeever's final individual Paralympic race, but the post-retirement emotions are just starting to set in for the Canmore, Alta., native.

"I'm just starting to look back at what we were able to do and … kind of thinking about, at this point, 20 years of career and reflecting back on that," he told The Current's guest host Mark Kelley.

McKeever has no shortage of achievements to reflect on. He swept his three individual events in the Beijing 2022 Paralympics for the fourth Games in a row, winning gold in the 20 kilometre classical, the 1.5 kilometre sprint and the 12.5 kilometre freestyle.

Karen O'Neill, the CEO of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, said McKeever's races in Beijing were "some of the best races I've ever seen him race."

WATCH: McKeever races to gold in final solo Paralympic race

McKeever, who began losing his vision to Stargardt's disease when he was 19 years old, competed in the least severe classification of the visually impaired category. 

Since debuting at the 2002 Winter Paralympics, he's built of a list of accolades including a career total of 16 gold medals and 20 podium finishes.

They're both records for Paralympic cross-country skiers — not that he's counting.

"I've never done this for money, I've never done it for medals, I've never done it for recognition," he said. "I've done it because I wanted to, and I do really love this sport."

Despite being a reigning gold medallist, McKeever believes it's the right time to step away and give upcoming athletes a chance to taste success.

"[My teammates are] training so hard," he said. "It's their time to have the spotlight and not have to live under a shadow of an old man."

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