GB Snowsport has issued the following statement on Para Alpine World Cup skier, Menna Fitzpatrick
Following a broken leg sustained in summer training, Menna Fitzpatrick has undergone a successful surgical procedure and is now underway with a dedicated rehabilitation plan. She is making positive progress, and while a good case scenario would see her back in training this winter, we will be assessing Menna’s recovery under the supervision of the GB Snowsport medical team to ensure she is in the best possible position ahead of the 2025/26 season.
Everyone at GB Snowsport is fully focused on supporting Menna in her recovery and return to snow in the coming months.
Thirteen athletes named across three squads for beginning of Milan-Cortina qualifying period
GB Snowsport are delighted to confirm the selection of 13 athletes to represent Britain in Para Snowsport competition for the season ahead.
Marking the beginning of the qualification period for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Paralympic Winter Games, the coming season is expected to feature a full World Cup and World Championships calendar across Para Alpine Skiing, Para Nordic Skiing, and Para Snowboard.
British representation features three Paralympic medallists in Para Alpine skiers Menna Fitzpatrick (who will again be guided through the season by Katie Guest), Neil Simpson (with Andrew Simpson and Rob Poth sharing guiding duties), and Para Snowboarder Ollie Hill, while Scott Meenagh (Para Nordic) and James Barnes-Miller and Nina Sparks (both Para Snowboard) also boast World Championships podiums among their notable results. Matt Hamilton, rounds out the Para Snowboard team following some strong performances in his debut season.
The Para Alpine team will also see one new athlete in Hester Poole, who is joined by her guide Alistair Hall, while Adam Hall is also named as an additional guide.
Full Squad Selections:
Para Alpine
- Menna Fitzpatrick
- Katie Guest (Guide)
- Adam Hall (Guide)
- Alistair Hall (Guide)
- Hester Poole
- Rob Poth (Guide)
- Andrew Simpson (Guide)
- Neil Simpson
Para Snowboard
- James Barnes-Miller
- Matt Hamilton
- Ollie Hill
- Nina Sparks
Para Nordic
- Scott Meenagh
The Para Alpine World Cup season is due to get underway with speed races from Steinach am Brenner from the 10th – 13th December. Para Snowboard kick off their season in familiar territory with the Banked Slalom World Cup in Landgraaf from the 27th – 29th November whilst the first Para Nordic competitions are in Vuokatti from the 11th – 16th December.
Header Image: Tom Hardman
October session to help budding Paralympians to discovery pathways into High-Performance Winter Sport
ParalympicsGB have partnered with British Curling, Disability Snowsports UK, Snowsport Scotland, Snowsport Cymru Wales, Snowsport England, and GB Snowsport to offer opportunities for budding winter Paralympians to discover their Paralympic Potential.
On Saturday 26 October 2024, events will be held at Preston’s Flower Bowl and Chill Factore in Manchester, providing those seeking a competitive pathway in winter sport with the opportunity to be matched with a qualified coach from Para Snowboard, Para Alpine Skiing, Para Nordic Skiing, or WheelChair Curling, participation in a small group coaching session, and information on the sport, classification, and pathways for continued involvement in some of the country’s most exciting winter sports.
For more information, detailed timings, and sign up opportunities visit the Discover Your Paralympic Potential registration site at https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=JjgE4NIKfE2xcxCY01G5_bqqffoYZ59IlTMN2qYi40ZUMU44NDFVTVQyV0ZVVUxBQ05SUlRIQVJaUy4u&origin=QRCode.
Menna Fitzpatrick and Katie Guest seal double Crystal Globes from stunning season
Menna Fitzpatrick and Katie Guest concluded a golden 2023-24 season with a scarcely believable 12 World Cup podiums and a brace of Crystal Globes to cement their position as one of the strongest pairings in Visually Impaired Para Alpine skiing.
An overall haul of four Gold, three Silver, and five Bronze World Cup medals saw the pair clinch the Super-G Crystal Globe outright and share the Downhill Crystal Globe, while also taking third in the overall standings, third in Giant Slalom and fourth in Slalom.
Opening their account with Silver and Gold at the St Moritz Downhill World Cups in December, Fitzpatrick and Guest remained consistent right through the season, taking their final podiums of the year in Sella Nevea’s World Cup finals with Slalom Bronze and and Giant Slalom Silver.
Mia Brookes and Zoe Atkin brought their A Games to X Games 2024, while there were Para Alpine podiums to celebrate in Veysonnaz
Brookes and Atkin take Gold and Silver in Aspen
Mia Brookes and Zoe Atkin continued Britain’s proud record at X Games with medals in Freestyle Snowboard Slopestyle and Freeski Superpipe at the 2024 edition of the contest.
Brookes, the second youngest athlete at the invitational event, got the Games off to a stunning start with victory in the Women’s Freestyle competition. Such was Brookes’ dominance of the event that any of her three runs would have scored highly enough to take victory, with flawless rail sections, a Cab 12 on her highest scoring run, and a Cab 14 on her final run.
In the Women’s Freeski Superpipe, Zoe Atkin delivered a super clean display of Halfpipe skiing that included the highest amplitude recorded on the night to take Silver behind Eileen Gu, and back up the Gold medal that she won at X Games 2023.
British interest rounded out with a solid fourth place finish for Brookes in the Freestyle Snowboard Big Air competition.
Fitzpatrick and Guest take Para Alpine Podiums in Veysonnaz
Menna Fitzpatrick and Katie Guest added two more World Cup podiums and two FIS podium to their season tally in a busy week of competition in Veysonnaz. Bronze medals in World Cup Giant Slalom and Super G races were followed with Gold and Silver in FIS Super G competitions to round out a successful week of racing in the Swiss resort.
In the Women’s Seated classification, Shona Brownlee was also in action with a pair of fifth place finishes.
Taylor adds fifth podium of season in Melchsee-Frutt
Jaz Taylor’s remarkable Telemark World Cup campaign continued with a fifth podium of the season in the Melchsee-Frutt Classic World Cup. With third place in the first of the weekend’s competition, Taylor secured her first Classic podium since March 2022, further consolidating top spot in the Telemark overall rankings, where she sits 135 points clear of France’s Lily Chaucheprat. In the Men’s competition, Timote Gough was also in action, with 14th place in the Classic the pick of his results.
And the rest…
In Ski Cross, Ollie Davies made it through to the 1/8 Finals stages at the St. Moritz World Cup to take 20th spot while Scott Johns, on World Cup debut, finished in 58th place. The St. Moritz Snowboard Cross World Cup saw Charlotte Bankes finish just outside the top-10 with an 11th place finish, while Huw Nightingale took 55th spot.
In Moguls, Makayla Gerken Schofield continued their comeback from a knee injury with 22nd place in the Waterville World Cup, while Mateo Jeannesson finished 24th in the Dual Moguls event.
In Cross-Country, James Clugnet sealed his best World Cup result of the season with 20th place in the Sprint F World Cup in Goms and 26th in the 20km F Mass Start, with Andrew Musgrave finishing 12th in the latter.
A record-breaking weekend saw British skiers and snowboarders take eight World Cup podiums
Brookes takes bronze, secures Crystal Globe
The weekend’s first podium arrived with Mia Brookes taking bronze at the Copper Mountain Big Air World Cup, and securing with it the Freestyle Snowboard Big Air Crystal Globe.
A score of 155.75 was enough to propel Brookes into the podium positions, behind Japan’s Kokomo Murase and Mari Fukada in first and second spot. The result, with Reira Iwabuchi finishing in fifth, was enough to confirm Brookes’ Crystal Globe title with three podiums in four Big Air World Cup competitions this season.
Musgrave’s superb silver
Andrew Musgrave secured his best ever World Cup result and matched Britain’s highest finish in Cross-Country World Cup competition with a breathtaking second place finish at the Trondheim Skiathlon World Cup.
Coming into the weekend’s competitions in a rich vein of form with four top-10s under his belt already, Musgrave delivered a near flawless display of Cross-Country skiing to finish in 43:51.4 just 0.7s behind race winner, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo. The result gave Musgrave his third World Cup podium, after third place finishes in Toblach in 2017 and Beitostolen in 2022.
Fitzpatrick and Guest strike Gold (and Silver)
Menna Fitzpatrick and Katie Guest ensured the start to the Para Alpine season would be a memorable one, with silver and gold medal finishes in back-to-back Para Alpine Downhill World Cup races in St. Moritz.
After a hugely encouraging showing on day one of competition which yielded an excellent second place, Fitzpatrick and Guest stepped up a gear to take victory on the second day of racing, finishing ahead of South Korea’s Sara Choi and Sanghyun Jung, and Slovakia’s Alexandra Rexova and Hugo Rybar.
Atkin and Muir bank Freeski Bronzes
The Copper Mountain Freeski World Cup saw further bronze medal performances from Kirsty Muir (Freeski Big Air) and Zoe Atkin (Freeski Halfpipe), taking the overall British tally from the competition to three third place finishes.
In her first World Cup of the season, Atkin skied superbly to qualify in first before delivering a highly technical performance to secure the fourth World Cup podium of her career and her second in Copper Mountain.
Muir showed enormous bravery and grit to overcome a nasty looking fall in the second jump of the Freeski Big Air finals to ensure she also secured bronze and a fourth career World Cup podium finish. An overall score of 173.75 was enough to confirm third place, behind France’s Tess Ledeux and Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland.
Double Golds for Jaz Taylor
Telemark sensation Jaz Taylor took the 46th and 47th World Cup podiums of her career, and her first race victories since March 2022, with a brace of stunning Sprint victories in the Pinzolo Telemark World Cup.
The results further cement Taylor’s standing as the pre-eminent Telemark skier of her generation, and as one of the finest British snowsport athletes of all time.
Jeannesson in top-10 again
Mateo Jeanneasson‘s excellent early season form continued in the Alpe d’Huez Moguls World Cup with a ninth place finish giving him a second top-10 of the season. Backing up his stunning sixth place in Ruka with 12th in Idre Fjall, Jeannesson once again made finals with a superb score of 73.58 at the iconic French venue, making him the youngest athlete in the top-10.
Mixed weekend for Snowboard Cross team
Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale endured a mixed weekend at the Cervinia Snowboard Cross World Cup, but nevertheless took a commendable fifth place finish in the Mixed Team event to follow their victory in the previous Team World Cup in Les Deux Alpes.
Individual World Cup races saw Nightingale finish in 31st and Bankes in 21st positions.
Guest takes another Europa Cup top-10
Charlie Guest took her second Slalom Europa Cup top-10 finish in a week with seventh place in the Valle Aurina/Ahrntal EC on Saturday, having finished eighth in Mayrhofen the previous week.
World Cup debuts for Carr, Gledhill, and Holden
Amid the good news from this weekend’s performances, there was more to celebrate with World Cup debuts for Cali Carr (Moguls), Gabriel Gledhill (Cross-Country), and Gidget Holden (Freestyle Snowboard Halfpipe).
Fitzpatrick and guide Katie Guest follow silver with superb gold
Menna Fitzpatrick and Katie Guest ensured the St. Moritz double header Downhill World Cup would end in glory with a. superb first place finish in the second of the weekend’s two Downhill contests.
Coming off the back of a hugely encouraging second place showing yesterday, the British pair put in an excellent showing to finish 2.42s clear of South Korea’s Sara Choi and Sanghyun Jung in second place, with Alexandra Rexova and Hugo Rybar taking third.
The result rounds out an excellent first weekend of the Para Alpine World Cup season, and adds a seventh podium to an astonishing weekend for British skiers and snowboarders.
Para Alpine Head Coach, Ally Brown, said:
“Menna and Katie proving that hard work and a positive attitude pays off! After a result like this, there needs to be a big thanks to the coaching team: Peter, Liam, Eilidh, and Kate.”
Downhill silver adds to Fitzpatrick and Guest’s remarkable record
Menna Fitzpatrick and Katie Guest got the Para Alpine season off to an excellent start with silver in the St. Moritz Downhill World Cup.
Fitzpatrick and Guest’s finished 1.70s behind the Slovakian pair of Alexandra Rexova and Hugo Rybar, with South Korea’s Sara Choi and Sanghyun Jung in third. The race marks the first in a Downhill double-header in St. Moritz, with the second race set for tomorrow.
Menna spoke of her pride at the performance, saying:
“For me today’s race was all about building confidence in speed and especially in downhill so I’m super proud of our performance today and Katie couldn’t have done a better job. Can’t wait to give it another go tomorrow.”
Ally Brown, Para Alpine Head Coach, said:
“I am really pleased for Menna, not just because of the podium but because of how she skied. It really reflects the hard work that Menna puts in, the excellent guiding from Katie and the hard work that the coaching team has put in to help Menna perform. It is a great foundation to lay at the beginning of the season and the most exciting thing is that I know that there is much more to come from Menna and Katie.”
GB Snowsport has today confirmed the selection of 14 athletes to the Para Alpine, Para Nordic, and Para Snowboard squads ahead of the coming season.
A ten-athlete Para Alpine squad featuring luminaries of the sport Menna Fitzpatrick and Neil Simpson is joined by a returning three-person Para Snowboard team, with Scott Meenagh named as the sole representative of the Para Nordic squad.
Fitzpatrick and Simpson are named alongside Shona Brownlee, Alex Slegg, Michael Kear, and VI Guides Katie Guest, Andrew Simpson, Rob Poth, Adam Hall, and Louise Harrison in a Para Alpine squad rich in experience and success over recent seasons.
The Para Snowboard squad remains unchanged from last season, with James Barnes-Miller, Ollie Hill, and Nina Sparks seeking to build on a series of high-grade performances last year which returned multiple World Cup and World Championships podiums across the team.
Scott Meenagh, meanwhile, returns in the Para Nordic squad having made history last season with a first ever World Championships medal, delivering on the rich promise that British Para Nordic skiing has shown throughout the past few years.
GB Snowpsort Para Programme Manager, James Redpath, said:
“The stability and success of our Para Snowsport squads has been really clear over recent seasons, and that’s reflected in the growing list of race and competition victories held by athletes named in these squads today.
“This is a really important season for all of our athletes, many of whom will have ambitions to compete at the next Paralympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina in 2026, and I’d like to congratulate all of them alongside their coaching and support teams for their selections today.”
With pre-season training underway and a number of athletes making their way back from injury, the countdown to the season is on with the first Para Snowboard World Cup scheduled for Landgraaf in late November, while the Para Alpine World Cup season is slated to begin in Steinach am Brenner in mid-December. The Para Nordic calendar is expected to be confirmed shortly.
Full Squad Lists
Para Alpine
- Shona Brownlee
- Menna Fitzpatrick
- Katie Guest (Guide)
- Adam Hall (Guide)
- Louise Harrison (Guide – Invitational)
- Michael Kear
- Rob Poth (Guide)
- Andrew Simpson (Guide)
- Neil Simpson
- Alex Slegg
Para Nordic
- Scott Meenagh
Para Snowboard
- James Barnes-Miller
- Ollie Hill
- Nina Sparks