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Blind skier Brian McKeever and his guide, Graham Nishikawa, won their second gold medal of the Paralympic Winter Games in thrilling fashion today.

McKeever overcame an early spill in the one-km sprint to claim his ninth Paralympic gold medal, thanks in large part to the work of hard-charging Whitehorse native Nishikawa.

Stacked against two Russians and a Swede in the sprint final, the 30-year-old Nishikawa appeared to have led Canmore's McKeever through the cluttered pack of guides and athletes into clear trail until the unthinkable happened near the 200-metre mark.

A Russian skier stepped on McKeever's pole, sending the 34-year-old airborne and onto his backside.

Never one to give up, McKeever bounced back up and hunted the leaders down en route to his second gold medal of the 2014 Games.

"Wow, that was stressful,鈥� sighed McKeever at the finish. "It wouldn't be right for me to tell you what I said in my head, but once the cuss words were out, the only thing you can do is get back up and race.

"I thought we were clear, but that is normal and it happens in sprinting when you are all fighting and tight. Everyone is going flat out. It is intense and everyone is at their limit. We are just fortunate it happened in the first 200 metres and not at the end so we had time to catch up.鈥�

After taking a deep breath, Nishikawa took control, putting the throttle down and commandeering the Canucks back into contention in the action-packed sprint race.

"When I saw him go down, I immediately panicked and just thought oh no. Not now,鈥� Nishikawa recalled post-race. "It wasn't until we got back up around the Russians and had the Swedes in sight that I felt a huge relief.鈥�

McKeever and Nishikawa ploughed through the field and more than 30 centimetres of fresh snow to win their second medal of the week.

"What a set of wheels on Graham today ... That was impressive,鈥� said McKeever. "The snow was so heavy today. He basically towed me up that hill and got me around the Russian roadblock out there and gave us a chance. It is not how we planned things, but that was a pretty awesome day.鈥�

Adding to the dramatics, it was the first time Nishikawa had guided his friend, and training partner, on his own in international competition.

After racing together over the last decade in Canada, McKeever recruited Nishikawa into his training group this fall with the goal of bringing two guides to the Paralympics for the first time ever.

Leading all qualifiers in the head-to-head heats with the top-12 athletes, the two Canadians handily advanced to the final where the 12-time Paralympic medallist faced the biggest adversity of his career.

Sweden's Zebastian Modin hung on for the silver medal, while Russia's Oleg Ponomarev outraced his countryman for the bronze.

Earlier this week, Nishikawa, who races able-bodied both domestically in Canada and on the World Cup circuit, shared

guiding duties with Erik Carleton to lead McKeever to his first gold of the 2014 Games.

Carleton's name was on the start list so he was the only one to receive a gold medal.

But on Thursday, Nishikawa will get his due and receive a gold medal of his own.

"It feels absolutely awesome,鈥� beamed Nishikawa. "I said earlier this is a whole new world for me. I'm so impressed by everything. This whole experience has been amazing and I just wanted to do whatever I could to be here and help Brian. We have been friends for a long time so this is very special.鈥�

The victory brings McKeever's career medal haul to 12 at the Paralympics, including nine golds.

If he can chalk up one more victory this week, he will become the first Canadian Winter Paralympian with at least 10 gold medals, and third Paralympian in Canada overall to accomplish the feat.