Meenagh ends 20 year wait for Para Nordic representation

It’s a moment that has been 20 years in the making but Great Britain once again has a Paralympic Para Nordic skier after Scott Meenagh completed his first race at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.

When Terry Ahrens turned out for ParalympicsGB at Nagano 1998 Meenagh was just ten years old but he has followed Ahrens’ tracks and is hoping others will be close behind.

Competing in the men’s biathlon 7.5km sitting, Meenagh finished 18th overall in his first-ever Paralympic race with a time of 27:28.1 – 3:38.4 behind American gold medallist Daniel Cnossen, silver going to Belarus’ Dzmitry Loban while Canada’s Collin Cameron skied to bronze.

Meenagh was part of the Paralympic Inspiration Programme four years ago in Sochi and has been determined to make it to the start line at a Paralympic Games ever since.

Today his dream came true and it was a moment that surpassed his expectations.

“It feels amazing, absolutely incredible,” said Meenagh. “Racing out there was such a buzz today, there was a different energy.

“It’s so different at a Paralympics and to be there with some of the best people in the world was an absolute privilege and it brought another level out of me today.

“Everything was different. Even away from the start line every single person there has been working for four years for this.

“Every person is bringing their A-game and no one is going to have an off day, everybody is out there with an absolute hunger and it is incredible to be part of and I was buzzing the whole way around.

“Four years ago Paralympic sport just seemed like another level but I made a small promise to myself in Sochi that I’d be on the other side of the fence. I didn’t want to be a spectator.

“I’ve achieved that now and I’m incredibly proud of myself. It’s been a hard journey and I’ve had to take the hard road time and time again but the biggest lessons are the journey and we’ve done incredible to be here.”

Meenagh, ever the perfectionist, admitted his frustrations after picking up four penalties in total on the range but refused to be too tough on himself on his Paralympic debut.

“I skied aggressively. I came here to ski hard and aggressive. I’m fairly happy with the way that I skied. I dropped a couple of shots on each round which, in my eyes, is not acceptable.

“However, it was my first time and shooting conditions were changing all the time today so we’ll go back and reassess.

“But I won’t be too hard on myself today because that was a huge milestone on my journey.

“For the rest of the Games I am hoping for more of the same. I want to ski with a lot of intent and ski smart. It was my first ever time at a Paralympics Games today so hopefully I’ll be a little bit calmer next time.”