As thoughts turn towards pre-season, we look back at an historic 2021/22 season for GB Snowsport athletes
Making History
As a season of record-breaking highs and heart-breaking disappointments draws to a close, the British snowsport scene can look back on a year where the history books were rewritten, even as we felt the joy and the despair of an Olympic and Paralympic Games like no other.
In Beijing, British athletes battled covid restrictions, challenging snow conditions, crashes, injuries, and disruption, and returned home with pride, disappointment, new successes, agonising defeats and, from the Paralympic squad, six medals from the Alpine and Snowboard events. But those are results that only tell a fraction of the story.
26 World Cup and World Championship podiums
On the World Cup and World Championships stages, British athletes took 26 podiums with Charlotte Bankes’ Crystal Globe winning Snowboard Cross season and Dave Ryding’s history-making Slalom victory in Kitzbuehel leading the way. Europa Cup contests added another 25, including four for the remarkable Mia Brookes, each a victory, and all before she has turned 16 years of age. FIS level races saw British athletes notch another 12 podiums, including seven victories, in Alpine, Freeski, Snowboard and Ski Cross. World Championships and World Junior Championships, meanwhile, accounted for an additional nine. On podium places alone, British skiers and snowboarders at every level, are showing themselves among the world’s best athletes.
And off the slopes, yet more progress has been made. New partners in Redrow, Fusalp, and Williams Advanced Engineering have helped to grow the sport at home and overseas. More work is underway to champion equality and diversity at every level. Efforts to bring our sport closer to people at home have taken root.
Highs and lows in Beijing
We cannot, though, forget the frustration felt in Beijing. For the Olympic squad to return without a medal was a disappointment given the good form of so many athletes going into the Games, but even among the sense of missed opportunities there were green shoots to be found. Kirsty Muir’s Olympic debut hinted at the promise her talent holds, Makayla Gerken-Schofield’s best-ever Moguls result for a British Olympic skier, and Zoe Atkin’s top-10 in the Halfpipe all showed a core of young talent with their best years ahead of them.
Even as the emotions of defeat were present, so the grit and determination among the team came to the fore, whether in Leonie Gerken-Schofield’s ability to get back up again and put down a run after a fall in the Moguls, Charlotte Bankes’ breath-taking display of overtaking in the Snowboard Cross Team event after her shock elimination in the Women’s competition, or Gus Kenworthy’s determination to finish his Olympic career with a clean run after a bone-shuddering fall in the Halfpipe Finals.
Where Olympic results didn’t deliver a medal, the Paralympic squad was a regular fixture on the podium throughout the Games. Its six medals – one gold, one silver, and four bronze – came through a mix of old hands (Millie Knight and Menna Fitzpatrick both adding to their remarkable Paralympic records) and new blood (medals on debut for Neil Simpson and, for Ollie Hill a first ever British Paralympic snowboarding medal), and built on a World Championships that saw Britain return home with seven medals from Lillehammer.
A new cycle begins
As one four-year cycle draws to a close another begins, and eyes are already beginning to turn to Milan-Cortina, the venue for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. As plans for that cycle begin to take shape both the current and the next generation of British stars are making an ever-stronger mark.
As a country and as a Governing Body, we are still at the beginning of our journey to become one of the world’s leading snowsport nations. Results aside, the performance standard for British snowsport athletes has increased dramatically in the four years since the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, with the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic squads the strongest a British team has ever sent to a Winter Games. These are the levels that athletes will now have to meet and exceed as Milan-Cortina approaches, and the potential that a new generation of skiers and snowboarders is showing gives us reason for optimism.
In Snowboard Cross, the first Crystal Globe of Charlotte Bankes’ career shows the depth and consistency of her talent, with Huw Nightingale also enjoying a breakthrough season, while Ski Cross prospects are encouraging with Ollie Davies and Max Vaughton both making an impact this year.
In Alpine, Charlie Guest continues to go from strength-to-strength, with repeated forays into World Cup top-20 spots, while Reece Bell’s long-awaited World Cup debut has arrived, and Charlie Raposo has delivered the best British men’s performances in Giant Slalom for decades.
The Para Nordic squad has grown in stature with a series of career-best performances over the season hinting at the potential to come, while in the Para Snowboard ranks new talent continues to break through with Ollie Hill, Nina Sparks, and Jon-Allan Butterworth all bolstering British hopes at the highest levels.
Mateo Jeannesson’s development in Moguls has catapulted him to the top of the podium.
Mia Brookes looks ready to conquer the world after a season which saw her take eight wins and one runner up spot from nine FIS, Europa Cup and Junior World Championship event entries.
The country’s Freeski prospects look encouraging, with Kirsty Muir, Zoe and Izzy Atkin, Connie Brogden, and Tyler Harding all showing promise this year.
Britain’s Kitzbuehel King
The future, then, looks in good hands. But in the present, the 2021/22 season leaves behind a moment that will never be forgotten in British snowsport history. As the man himself said, “I remember in the past comments like ‘Ah, I’ve been beaten by a Brit’, or calling us an ‘exotic’ nation. Those comments have gone pretty quiet now. I’ve always said to the younger generation that it’s possible; I don’t have to say that anymore. I can just put the video on and say: ‘watch that’.”
Dave Ryding. Kitzbuehel Slalom World Cup winner 2022.
A victory to showcase a great sportsman’s talent, and to mark Britain’s place on the global snowsport map.
Header image: Charlie Guest at Schladming World Cup, January 2022. Photo: GEPA pictures/ David Geieregger
The final stint of the 2021/22 season show British athletes continuing to excel
Fresh from her Paralympic Winter Games debut in Beijing, Shona Brownlee was back in action in Winter Park Resort, Colorado, grabbing a NorAm Silver in the Giant Slalom. After a first run that left her needing to make up time, a brilliant second run saw Brownlee notch the fastest women’s run of the day and catapulted her into second place.
In the Ski Cross World Junior Championships in Veysonnaz, Switzerland, Tommy Dade, Scott Johns, and Patrick Young all put in encouraging performances to finish 24th, 25th, and 42nd respectively, though the main relief from the competition was confirmation of Johns’ health after a bad crash saw him helicoptered off the hill.
At the World Rookie Tour, there were superb results for snowboarders Mia Brookes and Charlie Lane, with Brookes taking victory in the Grom Women’s Slopestyle ahead of Lucia Georgalli of New Zealand and Czechia’s Vanessa Volopichova, while Lane came second in the Grom Men’s Slopestyle between the Finnish boarders, Ville Jukola and Erik Jurmu.
The weekly GB Snowsport results summary is presented in association with Snow+Rock
Header Image: Shona Brownlee competes in the Super-G at the Paralympic Winter Games 2022. Photo: GEPA pictures/ Patrick Steiner
The 2022 Paralympic Winter Games reached their conclusion with a final showing in the Men’s Slalom and the Cross-Country Open Relay
Neil Simpson‘s superb debut Games came to an end alongside guide Andrew Simpson, with a ninth-place finish in the Men’s VI Slalom. A difficult first run saw the pair in 11th place at the turn, but the third fastest second run in the field saw them claw back time and places to finish up in the top-10 once again. For the pair it was another encouraging performance in a Games that will be remembered for their Gold and Bronze medal showings earlier in the programme, and which saw them named as ParalympicsGB Flag Bearers for the Closing Ceremony of the Games.
James Whitley’s own outstanding Games also saw him bank another top-10 finish, coming eighth in the Standing Slalom. In difficult conditions that saw a significant proportion of the fied unable to finish, Whitley’s time of 1:42.59 left him less than 2s behind seventh spot, and just 9.38s outside of the podium places.
Alex Slegg and Dan Sheen were also back on the slopes for the final event of their debut Games in the Sitting Slalom, with Sheen posting a DNF on the second leg after coming into the turn in 25th spot, while Slegg was disqualified on his second run having sat in 18th spot after the first.
In the Cross-Country, the Men’s squad of Steve Arnold, Callum Deboys, Scott Meenagh, and Steve Thomas came in at the rear of the pack with a 12th place finish in the 4 x 2.5km Open Relay. The event concludes a remarkable programme for the Nordic squad which saw Paralympic Nordic debuts for Arnold, Deboys, Thomas and, in the women’s programme, Hope Gordon, a streak of career-best results for Meenagh and, for Arnold, an incredible two events under his belt having only received clearance to compete deep into the Games after a covid infection threatened to derail his entire competition.
Header Image: YANQING, CHINA – MARCH 13: Neil Simpson competes in the Para Alpine Skiing Men’s Slalom Vision Impaired during day nine of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics at Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre on March 13, 2022 in Yanqing, China. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
The Paralympic Winter Games conclude as the Men’s Alpine squad get ready for one final push in the Slalom, and the Cross-Country Relay rounds out the Nordic programme
Alpine – Men’s Slalom
Double medallist Neil Simpson and Guide Andrew Simpson will have one more shot Paralympic glory as they set off in the Men’s VI Slalom races, beginning at 12.30am. Having already taken Gold in Super-G and Bronze in Super Combined, the pair will be looking to finish their history-making Games in style.
James Whitley is set to round off the most successful Paralympic Games campaign of his career to-date in the Standing class, while in the Sitting category Alex Slegg and Dan Sheen‘s Games debuts will also draw to a close.
Watch on: Channel 4 and YouTube
Nordic – Cross-Country Relay
The Cross-Country Relay events finalise the Paralympic Nordic programme. The British team were assessing course conditions ahead of confirming their race entries, with final decisions anticipated shortly before competition begins.
Watch on: Channel 4 and YouTube
Header Image: Neil Simpson competes during the Men’s Giant Slalom Vision Impaired Run 1 on day six of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics at Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre on March 10, 2022 in Yanqing, China. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
Day 8 of the Beijing Paralympic Winter Games saw the conclusion of the Women’s Alpine programme, and five Brits on the course in the Cross-Country
For the first time at the Games, Britain was able to put all five Para Nordic athletes on the start line, with Steve Arnold finally able to make his Paralympic debut having been forced to miss the majority of the Games programme after testing positive for covid shortly before the team flew out to Beijing.
In a tough Cross Country Men’s Middle Distance Sitting race in tiring conditions, Arnold took 28th, with teammate Steve Thomas in 31st, Callum Deboys banking an excellent 20th place, and Scott Meenagh continuing his impressive Games in 16th spot.
In the Women’s Middle Distance Sitting, Hope Gordon’s debut Games saw her finish up in 16th place, a superb showing, particularly given the Games come in her first season in the sport.
In the Women’s Slalom contest, Menna Fitzpatrick and Millie Knight were unable to add to their medal haul in the VI category, and finish the Beijing Games with three medals between them.
In a competitive field, Fitzpatrick, guided by Gary Smith, looked well set placed after her second run, but a strong showing from Alexandra Rexova pushed her into fourth from the bronze medal position. Millie Knight. guided by Brett Wild, had to settle for eighth, but leaves the Games with another Paralympic medal under her belt and the honour of having taken ParalympicsGB’s first medal of the Games.
In the Seated class, Shona Brownlee showed every ounce of her resilience in overcoming a nasty fall on her first run to retake the course, put down a finishing time, and confirm another top-10 finish at the Games, finishing up in ninth spot.
Header Image: ZHANGJIAKOU, CHINA – MARCH 12: Steve Arnold competes in the Men’s Middle Distance Sitting on day eight of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics at Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Centre on March 12, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
The penultimate day of competition will see the Nordic and Women’s Alpine teams back in action
Alpine – Women’s Slalom
Fresh from their Giant Slalom exploits, the Women’s Alpine squad are straight back into action for their final competition of the Beijing Paralympic Winter Games, the Slalom. Menna Fitzpatrick and Millie Knight with Guides Gary Smith and Brett Wild will lead the charge in the VI category, while Shona Brownlee will round off her Paralympic debut in the Seated class.
First runs start from 12:30am with the competition scheduled to be completed by 5:30am.
Watch on: Channel 4 and YouTube
Cross-Country – Men’s Middle Distance Sitting
Callum Deboys, Scott Meenagh, and Steve Thomas‘ Beijing campaign continues with the Middle Distance Cross-Country race. The Sitting category is set for 4:30am on the 10km course at Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Centre.
Watch on: Channel 4 and YouTube
Cross-Country – Women’s Middle Distance Sitting
Having made ParalympicsGB history in her debut race, Hope Gordon continues her journey as Britain’s first ever female Paralympic Nordic skier in the Women’s Middle Distance sitting. The 7.5km race gets started at 4:50am.
Watch on: Channel 4 and YouTube
Header ImageL YANQING, CHINA – MARCH 11: Millie Knight competes in the Women’s Giant Slalom Vision Impaired during day seven of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics at Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre on March 11, 2022 in Yanqing, China. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
On a superb day for British athletes in Beijing, Ollie Hill took Snowboard Banked Slalom bronze in a nailbiter, while there were best ever Paralympic Games results for Owen PIck and Scott Meenagh
Ollie Hill rounded out his Paralympic Winter Games debut with a stunning Bronze in the Men’s LL2 Snowboard Banked Slalom. Sitting in third after the first run, Hill’s time was enough to secure him a superb podium spot less than two years after starting out in the sport, and with it take ParalympicsGB’s first ever Snowboarding medal. Sitting just behind him in fourth spot was Owen Pick, who came within tenths of a second of grabbing a podium spot of his own, his time of 1:10.64 coming fractions behind teammate Hill’s 1:10.45, and securing his best ever Paralympic Games finish. Andy MacLeod, meanwhile, rounded off his own Paralympic debut with a solid performance and a top-20 finish.
There was disappointment, meanwhile, for James Barnes-Miller, whose Games finished with a ninth-placed finish in the UL class. He nevertheless finishes the Games with two top-10 finishes under his belt after the fifth spot he took in the Snowboard Cross.
Speaking afterwards, Ollie Hill said:
“I’m absolutely stoked. I said earlier in the week I felt I had a bit more confidence in Banked Slalom, and we proved it today. To think I’ve come away with a medal, I cannot put it into words. I wanted to push for the gold, but the second run was a bit slower, the snow was caving in a bit.
“I’ve been off social media which has been qite nice but as soon as I get home I’m sure it will go a bit wild. My sisters have helped me so much through this; mum and dad will be so proud too.”
🥉 BRONZE 🥉
HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Ollie Hill who just won bronze on his Paralympic Debut in Banked Slalom SB-LL2!!!
Incredible scenes from @Beijing2022 this morning 🔥#WinterParalympics pic.twitter.com/xVHf1ydYHO
— GB Snowsport (@GBSnowsport) March 11, 2022
Scott Meenagh‘s impressive showing at the Games continued with a career-best sixth place finish in the Biathlon Individual Sitting. In a race again dominated by the host nation, who took Gold and Bronze, Meenagh’s outstanding performances in Beijing were rewarded with a stunning result, his third time setting a career-best result over the course of the Games, his time of 41:32.5 leaving him more than a minute clear of Dan Cnossen of the USA in seventh. Callum Deboys, meanwhile, posted a gutsy 18th place finish with a final time of 49:53.8.
⭐ A CAREER’S BEST FOR SCOTT MEENAGH ⭐
Congratulations to @SMeenagh for 6️⃣th in the Biathlon Individual Sitting 💪
Well done too, to Callum Deboys for a very respectable 1️⃣8️⃣th!#WinterParalympics pic.twitter.com/A0Y0ewNeXy
— GB Snowsport (@GBSnowsport) March 11, 2022
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-ten finish coming with a combined time across her two runs of 2:32.08.
Header Image: BEIJING, CHINA – MARCH 11: Bronze medallist Ollie Hill celebrates after competing in the Men’s Banked Slalom Snowboard SB-LL2 during day seven of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics at Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park on March 11, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
A busy day at the Games will see the Women’s Alpine, Nordic, and Snowboard teams all in action
Alpine – Women’s Giant Slalom
Menna Fitzpatrick and Gary Smith and Millie Knight and Brett Wild will both be looking to add to their Beijing medal tally when the Women’s VI Giant Slalom gets underway from 12.30am.
In the Women’s Sitting Class, Shona Brownlee‘s Games are set to continue with the Seated first leg scheduled between 1.00am and 3.00am, following the conclusion of the Standing Class.
Second runs begin with the Women’s VI from 3.45am.
Watch on: Channel 4 and YouTube
Nordic – Men’s 12.5km Biathlon
Scott Meenagh and Callum Deboys‘ Games continue with the long-distance Biathlon, where Meenagh will be looking to add to his two top-10 finishes secured in Beijing these Games.
The Men’s Seated race gets started at 2:30am.
Watch on: Channel 4 and YouTube
Snowboard – Banked slalom
James Barnes-Miller, Owen Pick, Ollie Hill, and Andy MacLeod are all back in action as the Snowboard Banked Slalom races bring the Beijing 2022 Para Snowboard programme to a close.
The Men’s UL classification follows the Women’s UL, which starts at 3:00am, with the Men’s LL2 class following later in the morning.
Watch on: Channel 4 and YouTube
Header Image: YANQING, CHINA – MARCH 06: Shona Brownlee competes in the Para Alpine Skiing Women’s Super-G Sitting during day two of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics at Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre on March 06, 2022 in Yanqing, China. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
The Men’s Giant Slalom ended with a sensational performance from James Whitley, debuts for Dan Sheen and Alex Slegg, and a top-5 finish for Neil and Andrew Simpson
Competing in his third Paralympic Winter Games, 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.
Excellent skiing by James Whitley sees him take 6️⃣th overall in the Giant Slalom Standing at @Beijing2022! ⛷
Brilliant work James, a performance to be proud of!#WinterParalympics pic.twitter.com/wH23DfEJAC
— GB Snowsport (@GBSnowsport) March 10, 2022
In the Visually Impaired class, Neil Simpson and guide Andrew Simpson continued their excellent Beijing showing, finishing up in fifth place. Amid tricky snow conditions, the brothers from Banchory 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.
BEIJING, CHINA – MARCH 10: James Whitley reacts after their run during the Men’s Giant Slalom Standing Run 2 on day six of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics at Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre on March 10, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)