"Where is he, Howard? Where is he?" Gayle Buckle asks her husband, bobbing up and down in anticipation of her son's five-kilometre race finish.
"I'm getting nervous."
The proud parents of Team Alberta Special Olympics cross-country skier Shane Stewart smile with pride as Gayle describes how it feels to watch their son compete.
"It makes me cry because he just works so hard," she said.
Stewart, 28, suffered a brain injury in a car accident when he was 10.
An aspiring athlete before the injury, he has achieved great success in his sporting career. At the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Boise, Idaho, he medaled for Canada in all his events.
"He's a good athlete. He's very passionate about his skiing and he's geared up," said Team Alberta cross-country associate coach Bob Boychuk. "He's hungry for it."
In the years leading up to the 2012 Winter Games, Stewart increased his training by adding a professional ski coach and a personal trainer to his support team.
"He's hoping to get on the world team for South Korea next year," explained Gayle.
As Stewart descended the last hill of his 5K race, he fell while taking the sharp corner into the finish area. But that wasn't enough to keep him from the gold medal in the men's first division classic-style race. With a time of 24 minutes 51 seconds, he finished a full minute ahead of the next competitor.
"I was nervous because his time was slower than usual," said Gayle, "but this course is longer than we're used to."
Despite the tumble, Stewart was happy with his performance.
"I did my best," he said, "I just wanted to jump right up."
Stewart also placed first in his 2.5K race.
Family event
Stewart's sister Elouise is also competing for Alberta's cross-country ski team.
Although they live in different towns, both siblings train at the Canmore Nordic Centre under high performance skier John Reeves.
Elouise, who started skiing when she was young, took time off from the sport after fracturing her neck.
"After that it took me a while to get my confidence back and get back on my skis," she explained. "I didn't really lose my technique and skill too, too much, but building up that confidence again to get me back to here took some time."
Elouise also won her division for the 5K classic race on Wednesday, bringing her one step closer to her goal of representing Canada at the world Games. Although she has never been to worlds before, she hopes this is her year to qualify.
Just being at the national Games, though, has been a memorable experience for Elouise.
"It's exciting, it's thrilling, it's fun. It's a lot of different things," she said.
"And you know what the best part is? We worked hard to be here. Like, it's so much work. And then you get here and you achieve and you succeed, and it's just such a good feeling."
On Thursday, Elouise also won gold in the 7.5K classic in 48:13.30 and the 10K classic in one hour, 12 minutes 21 seconds.
