#ScotsonParaGB
Day five of the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games saw Scott Meenagh back in action in the Men’s sitting 1.1km Cross Country event, Millie Knight and Brett Wild competed in the Women’s VI Giant Slalom event and ParalympicsGB’s wheelchair curlers back on the ice to face Germany and the USA.
Wheelchair Curling
The Great Britain rink of Aileen Neilson, Gregor Ewan, Robert McPherson, Hugh Nibloe and Angie Malone MBE started the day with a record of four wins and three defeats in the round robin stage of the competition.
It was a day of mixed fortunes at the Gangneung Curling Centre as the ParalympicsGB curlers secured a decisive win against Germany before facing a tough defeat against USA. It was a tight start to the match against Germany but Great Britain picked up two shots in the fourth end and never looked back running out comfortable winners by 8-3.
However, Aileen Neilson’s rink could not carry this form into the match against the USA and lost tree shots in both the third and sixth ends to lose by 9-3.
Speaking after the defeat to the USA, Aileen said;
“You just have to be mentally strong in these moments. We came out after yesterday’s two disappointments and played really well in our first game.
“That was what we planned to do this afternoon but unfortunately it didn’t work out. The USA played better.
“I missed crucial draws which, if you don’t make these draws, you lose the game.
“We played another end to try and get another score on the board and to give ourselves a bit more of a feel for the ice.
“No disrespect to the USA but we just thought if we could score some shots, you just never know, you can score a big end. But they were just on fire and made everything.
“In the past we have been well down and have come back. At the break that was what our coach said and she told us it’s not over and it is never over until the last stone is thrown.
“We’re disappointed obviously but we’ll have to come out all guns blazing.
“Everyone can beat everyone else here. We can’t worry on who we are playing or how they are playing.
“We can only focus on how we play so we need to come out and be firing at our best.
“We’ll go away and have a chat now and regroup and then we just need to crack on.”
Biathlon
Scott Meenagh competed in the Men’s Sitting 1.1km Cross Country and ranked 16th in the qualification round with a time of 3:17.72. The 12 fastest athletes progressed through to the semi-finals and on this occasion, Scott missed out.
Speaking after the race, Scott said;
“I hadn’t realised where I’d finished when I crossed the line, obviously I would have liked to have made the semi-finals but when you’re out there you just give it everything and see where you stand.
“The conditions were tough, it was a tough race but at the end of the day that is what we are here for.
“The snow was softer was normal, there were quite a lot of holes around the start which made it difficult but we’re all racing the same snow so there’s no problems there, it’s just about who comes on top on the day.
“But I really enjoyed it, I’ll take that today.
“You have to attack and be prepared to take risks, this race is so much different to the ones that have gone before so you have to hit it hard and don’t be scared.
“You saw some of the best skiers in the world taking risks and falling over, it’s the gamble they’re taking but when it pays off, it’s the reason they end up on the podium.
“I’m getting there with enjoying this type of race but now I’ve got some more to come, now it’s about recovering well, getting back on the snow and ready for the runs.
“I’ll just go through the normal strategies, we’ve worked through different things on the World Cup season so it’s about doing the same things.”
Alpine Skiing
Millie Knight and Brett Wild were back in action on the slopes of the Jeongseon Alpine Centre for the Women’s VI Giant Slalom event and finished in seventh place.
Brett commented;
“I think that was quite far from our best. The first run looked good, it felt pretty but there was no drive, no attacking from the end of the turn, and on every single turn we lost speed which is quite frustrating.
“But to be honest, we’ve had such a bad season and to come here, to get two silver medals and with another chance left, we’re chuffed to bits with how it’s gone so far. We just need to bounce back from this again like we did yesterday and see how we can do on Sunday on the next race.
“We came into this with no medal expectations and we got the two silver medals. Our expectations kind of changed and maybe we got a little bit caught up in the moment but we’ve been brought back down to earth in these last few days.”
The action continues tomorrow with Millie Knight and Brett Wild back in action for the Women’s VI Slalom, whilst the wheelchair curlers face a tough double header against South Korea and China.
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/