Scott Meenagh takes pride despite challenging shooting conditions

Scott Meenagh took pride from his performance in the men’s 12.5km individual sitting event, despite it emerging as a tale of two sports.

The Scot finished 18th in his favoured men’s 12.5km event in 42:59.9, after accruing five shooting penalties.

And on a hot day, with spring beginning to make its presence known in the Dolomites, it was a challenge that even Meenagh’s experience struggled to handle.

“The shooting range was really challenging today. The results sheet will tell you, it’s very challenging for a lot of guys out there,” he reflected.

“I was fortunate at times to keep it down to ones. There was a lot of heat, and it invokes a little bit of hyperventilation.

“There is a lot of breath-holding in between shots in biathlon and that was something that I definitely ended up on the other side of today, I had to take an extra beat.”

Meenagh, 36, was competing in his third and final Paralympic Games, having first competed at PyeongChang 2018 after founding GB’s Para Nordic skiing national governing body himself.

It has equipped him with plenty of nous of how to deal with a variety of conditions out on the snow, but the charm and heartbreak of Para biathlon come in the need to master two different components.

For Meenagh, it was the stillness that shooting requires that provided the difficulty at the Tesoro Cross-Country Stadium on Sunday.

“That was some of the best skiing I’ve done all day and still the result would be snuffed at as a mediocre result,” he explained.

“You have to have both [skiing and shooting] performances come together on the same day to have a chance of a result.

“I found it really challenging physically on the range today, with a very high heart rate on a very hot day.

“Those ones could have been more so actually I am proud of how my ability to manage my energy, manage my emotions, and deliver what I could.

“That is a hard-fought performance in one of the toughest fields in the world.”

And, despite a disappointing result in the men’s sprint on Saturday, Meenagh still has the opportunity to synergise the two sports when he races again in the men’s sprint pursuit on Friday 13th March.

“Physically really happy with today,” he added. “For those beautiful days in biathlon, it needs to come together and I have got one more chance to do that.”