Barnes-Miller reaches new heights with ParalympicsGB’s best-ever snowboard finish

James Barnes-Miller secured ParalympicsGB’s best-ever snowboard result with a fifth-place finish in the UL snowboard cross finals.

After easing through the quarter final heats, an unfortunate collision in his semi-final put paid to Barnes-Miller’s chances of racing for the medals, but the Kent-born rider regrouped to win the small final in emphatic fashion.

It wasn’t to be for Owen Pick and Ollie Hill who were eliminated at the quarter final stages of the LL2 event.

“I feel like that was my chance to get a medal but hey-ho.

“I’ll have a day off tomorrow, relax and take my mind off it and just get focused in again.

Reflecting on his performance, Pick is hopeful of a better outcome when he races again on Saturday in his favoured event, the banked slalom.

“I think banks is always where it’s at, it what brings out the true, true best snowboarders in my opinion because there’s no one else in your way, no one else that can mess you up, no one else that can ride badly in front of you,” said Pick.

“So re-set, chill, maybe have a couple of runs on the banked slalom tomorrow in the training and see how we feel.”

Drawn into a tough heat that included eventual bronze medallist Ben Tudhope, Hill was delighted to be right up there with the best in the world.

“I gave it my best, I was close with the top boys and I knew it was going to be a hard heat so I always felt if I could just make it through that heat then I’d almost have done the hardest one of the day,” explained Hill.

“It’s the closest I’ve been to Ben [Tudhope] who’s always riding like a demon and considering it was only a year and a half ago since I joined the team I’ve had a pretty epic run just to get here so I cannot not be happy.”