More Para Alpine top tens for GB women in Giant Slalom

ParalympicsGB’s women were back out on the slopes of Yanqing for the Giant Slalom on the seventh day of action at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, with Menna Fitzpatrick and Millie Knight first up in the Visually Impaired event.

With two medals already from these Games, Menna could only manage seventh place this time around, but the 23-year-old remained upbeat about her performance alongside guide Gary Smith.

“It was quite a tough race, I made a few mistakes but I’m still super proud to be here and do a fairly good run,” she said.

“We knew the competition was getting stronger and we knew we needed to ski as well as we could do, and we definitely did that. No medal this time but we’ve just got to applaud the other girls for skiing so well.”

With the Slalom still to come – the event she won gold at in Pyeongchang four years ago – the Macclesfield skier knows competition will be tough, but she’s looking forward to giving it her all in the final Alpine event of Beijing 2022.

“I think it’s going to be really close, but I’m just going to enjoy it and really go for it and see what happens. We’ve had some amazing results and I’m just so proud of what we’ve done so far,” she added.

Millie – who won Downhill bronze on day one - finished two places further back in ninth, and the 23-year-old admitted she was just pleased to be racing without any pressure.

“I’m delighted we got down and it was good fun. I think we skied better the second time than we did in the first run which is always a positive. Giant Slalom is our weakest discipline, so we had no pressure at all going in and it’s so nice because it just allowed us to enjoy the race and focus on the technical elements. We can take that exact ethos in to tomorrow now too.”

Paralympic debutant Shona Brownlee finished ninth in the women’s Giant Slalom sitting event and enjoyed the chance to gain valuable experience against the best in the world.

“It’s all still a bit of a blur,” she said. “I’m pleased just to have completed it, there was a little bit of nerves after I didn’t finish the Slalom on this hill the other day, so my first run was probably a little bit tentative. So I’m glad that I’ve got down and got another Paralympic race under my belt.

“Each time I finish a run and finish a race it’s just building that confidence which makes it easier for the next time,” added the 42-year-old, who only began racing internationally in 2019.

“I can take so much away from this, the whole experience has been so much to learn - both in terms of the skiing, the level of competition and also the whole atmosphere. There’s definitely a lot I can learn from this and take into the future.”