On the fourth day of competition at The Para-Alpine (IPCAS) World Championships Menna Fitzpatrick joins Millie Knight on the podium of the Giant Slalom for a GB Silver and Bronze.
Starting as 1st and 3rd seeds in the race, Millie Knight, guided by submariner Brett Wild, and Menna Fitzpatrick, guided by army captain Jennifer Kehoe, skied solid first runs to give themselves a comfortable margin over the competition.
The buffer they had built over the other racers meant they could challenge the leader of the 1st run Henrieta Farkasova of Slovakia. However, despite significantly stretching their lead over the rest of the field in the 2nd run, their efforts were not enough to close the gap on eventual race winner Farkasova, who now adds this 2017 IPCAS World Championships Giant Slalom Title, to her Super Giant Slalom and Super Combined titles she won earlier in the week.
The visually impared female athlete Farkasova, who burst on the scene in 2009 and now has 10 World Championship titles and two Paralympic titles in a career spanning over a decade and it is looking like only Millie Knights brilliant Downhill performance on the first day of these championships will deny her a clean sweep in all disciplines.
Millie’s silver in today’s Giant Slalom adds to the silver she won in yesterday’s Super Combined with followed her withdrawal from the Super Giant Slalom race as a precaution following a bad fall she suffered in her heroics of becoming Britain’s first ever skiing World Champion in the Downhill on Wednesday last week.
The podium did however give a strong hint of a bright future for British visually impaired performances as Menna Fitzpatrick, guided by Jennifer Kehoe, came good on the promise she showed all last season by finally a bronze medal performance, something she has been threatening to do since she burst on the scene last year by winning the IPCAS World Cup Overall title.
Menna’s season got off to the worst possible start in October when she broke the bones in the back of her hand in a crash and needed to get four of them pinned in the autumn. The route back to competitive performances has been slower than expected, but todays bronze comes as a welcome tonic to an otherwise underwhelming first half of the season.
Both athletes are looking to go one better in the final event of these World Championships in the Slalom tomorrow.
Speaking after her run Millie said: ‘It’s been a great to make it to the podium again. It would have been nice to have been closer to Farkasova but I am happy with this. It is also great that Menna has been able to get a medal as well and have two Brits on the podium. A big thank you to the National Lottery and Get Kids Going for their support in getting us to the start line. I hope we can do it again tomorrow in the Slalom.’
Speaking after her run Menna said: ‘I am so chuffed. It has been really hard coming down from the success of last year and not being as competitive this year as I come back from injury, but to get a World Championship medal is so exciting. Thank you to the National Lottery and Get Kids Going who have supported me being here and of course mum and dad who have flown out to watch us.’
Millie’s Guide, Royal Navy Submariner Brett Wild commented: ‘Really pleased with the result today. Millie did herself and GB proud! ! I owe The Royal Navy so many thank you’s for enabling me to race with Millie’
Menna’s Guide, Army Captain Jennifer Kehoe commented: ‘I am really pleased for Menna, it has been a tough couple of months since the crash, watching your team mates get faster whilst you are off snow, but the hard work has paid off and it is really nice to be back in the mix for the medals. Thank you National Lottery and Army for supporting me to this success, fingers crossed there is more to come.
Duncan Freshwater Performance Director of British Parasnowsport added: ‘It is always really pleasing to see two of your athletes getting on the podium but after the fantastic success of Millie earlier in the Championships this was a really special result for Menna and Jen, I could not be more happy and proud of all four of them.