Bronze medallist Ollie Hill
ParalympicGB Snowboarder Ollie Hill, making his Winter Games debut, won Bronze in the Men’s LL2 Snowboard Banked Slalom – ParalympicsGB’s first ever Snowboarding medal.
Sitting in 3rd after the first run, Hill’s time secured him a place on the podium less than two years after starting out in the sport.
Teammate Owen Pick finished in fourth place and Andy MacLeod finished in 20th position.
Ollie, from Reading, said: “It was important to put down a good first run as it took the pressure off a little bit. I wanted to push, push, push for the gold but I felt the second run was a bit slower because the snow was caving in a bit.
“I have been off social media which has been quite nice but as soon as I get home I am sure it will go a bit wild. My sisters will be on the phone to each other crying their eyes out they have helped me so much through this. My mum and day will be so proud too.”
Para Snowboarder James Barnes-Miller, finished with a 9th-place finish in the UL class. This means he finishes the Games with two top-10 finishes under his belt after the 5th spot he took in the Snowboard Cross.
Skiers Menna, Millie, and Shona finish in top-10 in Women’s Giant Slalom
Shona Brownlee
In the Women’s Giant Slalom, Menna Fitzpatrick took seventh spot in the VI category with Guide Gary Smith, while Millie Knight had to settle for ninth alongside Brett Wild in a race won by Austria’s Veronika Aigner, taking her first Paralympic title.
The Women’s Seated Giant Slalom saw Shona Brownlee finish up in ninth spot, her top-10 finish coming with a combined time across her two runs of 2:32.08.
Career best result for Whitley in the Giant Slalom Standing class
Competing in his third Paralympic Winter Games, skier James Whitley took his career-best Paralympic result with a stunning sixth-place finish in the Giant Slalom Standing class.
Sitting 12th after his first run, Whitley put down the second fastest run of the entire competition in his second run to propel him into sixth position just 2.5s off the podium positions.
For Whitley, the result marks the continuation of an already-successful Games having put down his previous best result in the first day’s Downhill races.
In the Visually Impaired class, skier Neil Simpson and guide Andrew Simpson continued their excellent Beijing showing, finishing up in fifth place. Amid tricky snow conditions, the brothers safely navigated their way through both runs to finish 4.5s off the podium places.
In the Men’s Seated class, there were Paralympic debuts for Alex Slegg and Dan Sheen. In a packed field, Sheen’s efforts were good enough for 32nd place after the first run, but in tricky conditions skied out on his second run, while Slegg, sitting 30th after the first leg, delivered a technically sound second run which saw him improve his final standing to 26th.
Categories: Racing