#ScotsonParaGB

It seems to have come round far too quickly but today marked the final day of competition at the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games in PyeongChang and the Games came to a conclusion just as they started, with Brett Wild on the slopes but this time it was for the Women’s VI Slalom event.

Alpine Skiing

It was to be a fantastic final race at the Games for Brett as guide to Millie Knight. The pair secured their third medal with a solid performance to win bronze, 1.59 seconds behind their teammates Menna Fitzpatrick and Jennifer Kehoe who took the gold.

After the race Brett commented;

“It was a really challenging run, the conditions were tough. We put down a good enough run for bronze. We went for it but there were a few mistakes in there.

“We had a gameplan, we wanted to go flat out and we did and we left nothing on the hill so I’m chuffed to bits with how Millie has skied this week, it’s amazing.

“We would have been lucky to leave with one medal and I would have been happy to leave with one medal so to leave with two silvers and a bronze is phenomenal.

“I think the week on the whole has been absolutely brilliant. It was a hard dip in the middle and it took a lot for the sport psychologist to get us back but we bounced back and proved that mental resilience one again.

“I’ll take a week out when I get back to recuperate but then I’ll be back in the gym. That’s the plan.”

With the action at PyeongChang over, ParalympicsGB can look back on what has been the most successful winter Games ever. Great Britain’s athletes will return home with a magnificent one gold, four silver and two bronze medals, one more than the six won at Sochi 2014.

#ScotsonParaGB

Scott Meenagh was once again Scotland’s sole competitor in action om day eight of the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games in PyeongChang.

Nordic Skiing

Scott Meenagh concluded his Paralympic Games with the men’s 7.5km cross-country where he recorded a time of 25:17.5 to finish in 14^th place with South Korea’s Eui Hyn Sin taking taking gold, USA’s Daniel Cnossen silver and Ukraine’s Maksym Yarovyi bronze.

Scott has skied almost 60km this week as he became the first man for 20 years to represent Great Britain in Para Nordic skiing at a Paralympic Games.

Speaking about his Games experience, Scott said;

“The body is pretty bashed up but if I wasn’t feeling it now then I wouldn’t have given it 100 per cent,” said Meenagh. “I’m strapped up to the max but you need to be willing to put yourself in a dark place sometimes.

“It’s going to take me a while to come down from cloud nine. If you gave me a couple days of rest then I’d be wanting to do this all over again.

“I just love the drive in this environment, it’s just incredible and the spirit of it all made me quite emotional this morning just thinking about the bigger picture and how significant the Paralympics are.

“That really knocked into me this morning and I was really proud I could take to this stage and show some of my spirit and share some of my journey.

“I will continue to do this, I love doing this racing and it’s a pretty satisfying way to compete.”

And now that the curtain has fallen on time competing in South Korea, he has firmly fixed his focus on Beijing 2022 and a Paralympic medal.

“I’m going to endeavour over the next few years to make sure I am as close to the best guys as possible in every single race,” he added.

“Today was an honest account of how hard I can work, how fast I can ski and how much I can suffer so I’m really happy with that result.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t dare to dream and I am seeing what it takes to be at the top of this sport and I am inspired for life now and I am not going anywhere until I have given an absolute account of myself and I am on that podium.”

Tomorrow will see the conclusion of what has been a fabulous 2018 Winter Paralympic Games. However, before the curtain comes down in PyeongChang Glasgow’s Brett Wild will be back in action to guide Millie Knight in the Women’s VI Slalom event.

For an overview of Channel 4’s comprehensive coverage of the Games go to;

http://paralympics.channel4.com/news/2018-winter-paralympics-day-day-coverage-guide/

#ScotsonParaGB

Scotland had one member of the ParalympicsGB team in competition on day seven of the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games in PyeongChang.

Nordic Skiing

The gruelling schedule continued for Scott Meenagh as he continues to learn and improve with every event at PyeongChang 2018.

In his penultimate race of competition Scott was in good form in the early stages of the Men’s Sitting 15km at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre.  He had clean shoots on his first two trips to the range and was placed in the top ten at the midpoint of the race.

Scott had to contend with windy conditions on the course which contributed to him picking up three penalties on his third prone stage and another two on his final shoot.

Those misses impacted on Scott’s final score and he crossed in a time of 58:58.1 to finish in 14^th position. The gold medal was won by Germany’s Martin Fleig while USA’s Daniel Cnossen taking the silver and Canada’s Colin Cameron securing bronze.

After his race Scott said;

“You couldn’t slap the smile off my face today, I’m really happy. It was on after two shoots, I really thought I was in a strong position.

“It was great, I know what I’ve got wrong today and I’m going to go and work on it but I’m really happy with that.

“I’m extremely inspired and I feel that tomorrow if I hit it with the same intent and I can push a little bit harder then there is no reason why I can’t be up there.

“I feel like I skied really well and I was in a really nice place for the first couple of shoots. The third and fourth shoots caught me out a little.

“I can’t afford to not shoot well in this field because these guys are just incredible.”

“We’ve seen a glimpse of what can be today and it’s awesome,” added Meenagh. “That’s a sight of what can be possible.

“These Games have taught me lots of lessons but they have also shown me a glimpse of the level we can be at and if we get it right on the day. We are no worse than any of these guys out here.

“We know what we are here to do and we have a lot of work to do in the next four years but I’ve seen a lot of positives here.”

After five days of intense competition, Scott faces his final event tomorrow as he gets set to bring the curtain down on his first Paralympic Games in the men’s 7.5km cross-country.

For an overview of Channel 4’s comprehensive coverage of the Games go to;

http://paralympics.channel4.com/news/2018-winter-paralympics-day-day-coverage-guide/