Flying start as Knight and Wild take downhill silver

It didn’t take long for Millie Knight to make her mark on the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.

Four years ago in Sochi Knight carried the flag at the Opening Ceremony in a Games that proved to be a learning curve for the talented teenager.

This time around the learning has been done and Knight and guide Brett Wild have proved they are a force to be reckoned with on the world’s biggest stage.

A run of 1:30.58 was enough for the pair to take visually impaired downhill silver in the opening event of PyeongChang 2018 – 0.86 seconds behind Slovakia’s Henrieta Farkasova and guide Natalia Subrtova.

For Knight the relief was twofold. Not only has she claimed a Paralympic medal but she has also overcome adversity having crashed and suffered concussion on the same course at the World Championships in 2017.

“I literally can’t stop smiling,” said Knight. “This is amazing, the year we have had to get here, it has been a struggle. I never really thought we’d be back in this position.

“It is the best feeling in the world. I knew I’d stopped at the finish line and that was my goal, there was no repeats of last year where I just landed on my face.

“I just waited until I could hear what Brett’s reaction is because I can’t see the screen and when Brett said ‘YES!’ I knew it was good.”

Wild and Knight made their debut together at the World Cup Finals in Aspen two years ago and have gone from strength to strength ever since.