On this bittersweet last day of the Winter Olympics, the world's best will participate in only two final events: the gold medal men's hockey and the 50km cross-country skiing race. Among the many great contenders you will see today is Brian McKeever, a 30 year old skiier from Canada who, like the other athletes, has trained for decades to get to this point in his career. Brian is one of the best in the the world and is also the first Olympian to ever compete in both the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in the same year. You see, Brian is legally blind.

Full of hope and promise, Brian was diagnosed with Stargardt's disease at the young age of 19 years, still early in his skiing career. The illness is a type of juvenile macular degeneration that gradually results in blindness. Instead of throwing in the towel, Brian kept pushing, and twelve years later, with only 10 percent of his vision remaining, he is sitting on the cusp of becoming a legend. In our eyes, he already is one.

Brian hopes that whatever the outcome of today's race will be, it will serve as an indicator to spectators that Paralympians are every bit elite as other Olympians.

“It’s the Olympic Games for people with physical disabilities and I hope people will realize through my story the gap is not that big,” McKeever said in an interview last month. “Just because somebody has a disability doesn’t mean they are not training hard or are extremely fit.”

No matter who you are rooting for today, take a minute to say a little cheer for Brian, who serves as inspiration to those of us who let trivial circumstances stand in our way of achieving greatness. Good luck, Brian!

Read more about how Brian copes with his disability at mental floss.