Bankes banks Silver in China, as Para Snowsport Squad deliver medal-laden weekend

British athletes put a stamp on the new season with medal-winning performances across three continents

2021 Snowboard Cross World Champion, Charlotte Bankes, built on her superb 2020/21 season with a silver medal-winning performance in the discipline’s first World Cup race of the season in Secret Garden, Beijing. The competition, which acted as a test event for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, saw Bankes come in second behind Czechian Eva Samkova, and ahead of Italy’s Michela Moioli, having come through the qualification round in third position.

Maisie Potter, who also travelled as part of the British squad, came in just outside of the qualification spots for the final with a 29^th place finish.

Show some ♥️ for Charlotte who landed 🥈 at the @fissnowboard World Cup at Secret Garden, China this morning!

Congratulations Charlotte! 🇬🇧 🎉 🇬🇧 🎉 pic.twitter.com/vZyx9lia0d

— GB Snowsport (@GBSnowsport) November 28, 2021

In their first competition weekend of the season, Britain’s Para Alpine squad returned an astonishing 10 medals from competitions in Canada and Austria.

Sit-skiers Shona Brownlee and Alex Slegg both delivered outstanding performances in the Nor-Am Cup in Panorama, Canada. Brownlee finished the weekend with a gold and two silver medals, while Slegg achieved an outstanding bronze in an incredibly strong men’s sit-ski field.

In Resterhohe, Austria, the Para Alpine Europa Cup meet saw Menna Fitzpatrick and guide Katie Guest secure two gold medals, Neil Simpson and guide Andrew Simpson bring home two silvers, and Millie Knight and Brett Wild finishing up with two bronze medals, the squad laying down a serious marker ahead of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.

What a great first weekend back racing! We definitely didn’t expect to be on the podium for the first two races of the season. After a frustrating summer with injuries the paralympic season is off to a strong start! Pretty successful weekend for @GBSnowsport ❤ pic.twitter.com/HxKQg0oDT5

— Brett Wild RN (@BrettWild) November 29, 2021

In Alpine racing, Charlie Guest continued her fine start to the season with a 23^rd place finish and more World Cup points at the Killington World Cup in the USA. Meanwhile, Britain’s Alpine FIS Squad put on a demonstration of their potential, with Tom Hudson and Sarah Woodward finishing in top spot in the men’s and women’s FIS races in Kaabdalis, Sweden, and Ted Slade and Jess Anderson banking silver and bronze medals respectively.

The weekend also saw the start of the Nordic season, with Britain’s Andrew Musgrave banking a 16^th place finish and Andrew Young 32^nd in the 15km F Pursuit at the Cross Country World Cup, in Ruka, Finland.

The weekly GB Snowsport results summary is presented in association with Snow+Rock

Header Image: Image shows Michela Moioli (ITA) and Charlotte Bankes (GBR), Snowboard Cross World Championships, Idre, Sweden – Feb 2021. Photo: GEPA pictures/ Daniel Goetzhaber