Knight and Wild take gold in British medal rush

Paralympic medallist Millie Knight was ecstatic after claiming a first World Para Alpine Skiing World Cup gold medal in more than two years with guide Brett Wild.

The pair followed up Monday’s bronze-medal performance with two blistering runs in the giant slalom, finishing with a combined time of 2:05.01 to beat second-placed Noemi Ewa Ristau of Germany by 2.11 seconds.

It’s been a long process of recovery after a concussion-causing crash in 2017, but after taking some time out from the sport following PyeongChang 2018, Knight was delighted to get back to winning ways in Slovenia.

“I’m absolutely bubbling. I’m so pleased. It’s been a very long time because I had a major crash and it took two years to really recover from it,” Knight said. “Today I’m speechless. I’m over the moon.

“I never really rested from my concussion and my crash because it was the Games year. I never had that time to fully recover, so last season I thought, I’m going to just train. Races weren’t my focus at that point.

“It made me stronger. I’m fitter, healthier, happier than I was. All good steps in the right direction.”

Fellow Brits Menna Fitzpatrick and Gary Smith finished third to claim the bronze medal, posting a combined time of 2:08.99. The duo lost time on Ristau in the second run of the day, slipping from second to third in the process.

In the men’s event, Neil and Andrew Simpson claimed the bronze medal to make it a remarkable three medals in one day for the British team.

A combined time of 1:59.71 was enough to see the pair take their spot on the podium, finishing 6.63 seconds behind winner Mac Marcoux of Canada, with Italian Giacomo Bertagnolli finishing second.