Following the spectacular Opening Ceremony of the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games in the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium, Pyeongchang County, South Korea, it was time for Scotland’s 7 athletes within the ParalympicsGB team to focus on the competition for medals on day one of the Games.
Alpine Skiing
Glasgow’s Brett Wild was in action as guide to Millie Knight on day one of the Games in the Downhill, an event that they are the reigning World Champions in having secured the gold medal in Tarvisio, Italy, in 2017.
Knight and Wild posted a time of 1:30.58 to win silver in the women’s VI Downhill, 0.86 seconds behind Slovakia’s Henrietta Farkasova who took gold with her guide Natalia Subrtova. Belgium’s Eleonor Sana and her guide Chloe Sana completed the podium with bronze.
After his race Brett said:
“It’s absolutely unbelievable, we’ve had a really challenging season but deep down I knew that if Millie skied the way she could I knew we could do this and even better.
“We’ve got another four races to go though, so let’s keep pushing on.
“We have been working so hard and all season we have been so far away from the top guys and to cross the line and see we were 0.8 seconds behind them, I knew it was a good run because they are normally a few seconds ahead of everyone else.
“It was phenomenal for us to be back where we wanted to be and be back in the mix.”
Para Nordic Skiing
Scotland’s Scott Meenagh made his Paralympic debut in the Biathlon 7.5 km Sitting event capping a remarkable transition to the sport for the 29 year old from Cumbernauld. Scott competed in para rowing at an international level and only started Nordic Skiing in December 2014 before making the switch from rowing full time in March 2016.
Meenagh was part of the Paralympic Inspiration Programme four years ago in Sochi and has been determined to make it to the start line at a Paralympic Games ever since.
Scott posted a time of 27:28.1 in the men’s Biathlon 7.5km Sitting, finished 18th overall in his first-ever Paralympic race with a time of 27:28.1, just 3:38.4 behind American gold medallist Daniel Cnossen, with the silver going to Belarus’ Dzmitry Loban while Canada’s Collin Cameron skied to bronze.
After his debut race, Scott said:
“It feels amazing, absolutely incredible. Racing out there was such a buzz today, there was a different energy. It’s so different at a Paralympics and to be there with some of the best people in the world was an absolute privilege and it brought another level out of me today.
“I skied aggressively. I came here to ski hard and aggressive. I’m fairly happy with the way that I skied. I dropped a couple of shots on each round which, in my eyes, is not acceptable.
“However, it was my first time and shooting conditions were changing all the time today so we’ll go back and reassess.
“But I won’t be too hard on myself today because that was a huge milestone on my journey.
“Four years ago I was on the Paralympic Inspiration Programme and Paralympic sport just seemed like another level.
“I made a small promise to myself when I watched the welcome ceremony last time that I’d be on the other side of the fence. I didn’t want to be a spectator.
“I’ve achieved that now and I’m incredibly proud of myself. For the rest of the Games I am hoping for more of the same. I want to ski with a lot of intent and ski smart. It was my first ever time at a Paralympics Games today so hopefully I’ll be a little bit calmer next time.”
Wheelchair Curling
The all Scottish rink of Aileen Neilson, Gregor Ewan, Robert McPherson, Angie Malone MBE and Hugh Nibloe arrived in PyeongChang in confident mood following their bronze medal in the 2017 WCF World Wheelchair Curling Championships.
They couldn’t have been dealt a more difficult opening match at the 2018 Games as they were paired against reigning World Champions Norway in their opening match.
The Great Britain rink coached by Scotland’s Sheila Swan, dominated the game and ran out winners by 5-2. After losing a shot in the first end, Great Britain rallied and looked the stronger unit taking two shots in the fourth end and singles in the seventh and eighth ends to overpower the World Champions.
Look out for further action tomorrow as Brett Wild is back on the slopes for the Super-G, Scott Meenagh goes in the 15 km Cross Country and our wheelchair curlers have a double header against Switzerland and Finland.
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/