Three in the Top 10 in Banked Slalom
With adverse weather on the horizon, the Para Snowboard Banked Slalom competition was brought forward a day, giving Great Britain’s largest ever Banked Slalom team the chance to make their mark on the Paralympic course.
Nina Sparks was first out of the gate, making her Paralympic debut and her mark as the first female snowboarder to represent Great Britain at a Paralympic Games.
Sparks put down a solid first run, before building momentum on her second, clocking a best time of 1:12.79 to finish 10th in the combined category lower limb impairment category.
History was also made in the men’s Upper Limb category, where James Barnes Miller dropped into his third Paralympic Games and achieved his best-ever Paralympic Banked Slalom result.
He clocked in an impressive sub-minute run of 59.08 to finish in seventh place, and maintained his trend of consistent improvements in his position at each Games, after finishing in 11th in PyeongChang 2018 and ninth in Beijing 2022.
Matt Hamilton and Davy Zyw made their Paralympic Banked Slalom debuts also in the Upper Limb category, both finishing inside the top 20.
Hamilton delivered a stellar first run of 1:01.81, but the second run was disrupted when racing halted due to a crash by Japan’s Masataka Oiwane at the finish line. Unfazed by the delay, Hamilton walked back up to the to the start line and was able to restart out of sequence, marginally improved his time to 1:01.46 to claim 11th place.
Zyw, meanwhile, had already made history as the first para snowboarder with Motor Neuron Disease to compete at the Winter Paralympic Games. Despite sustaining two broken ribs during Para Snowboard Cross earlier in the week, he successfully completed two full runs to mark an impressive Banked Slalom debut.
Ollie Hill was the last of the Brits to drop, competing in the Lower Limb 2 category, he marked his second Paralympic Games with a solid seventh place finish.
Having sustained a concussion during Para Snowboard Cross training at the start of the Games, simply making it to the start line was a major achievement. Hill went on to clock the fastest British time of the day with 58.23 seconds, securing another top 10 result for the team.
Saving the Best for last in Biathlon
Scott Meenagh returned to action for his final Biathlon event of the Games in the Sitting Sprint Pursuit.
The Scotsman qualified for the final in 15th before giving it everything in the final to secure 14th place and his best result of the Games so far.
His attention now turns to Cross Country, where the 36-year-old will compete in his final event of the Games in the 10km Interval Start on Sunday 15 March.
Tough Conditions in the Giant Slalom
It was a challenging day for the British Para Alpine squad in the men’s Giant Slalom.
Neil Simpson and guide Rob Poth recorded a DNF on his first run after narrowly missing a gate on the upper section of the course despite a strong opening.
Sam Cozens and guide Adam Hall made a promising start to their Paralympic debut, posting a first-run time of 1:14.07. However, as temperatures rose in the afternoon and the snow softened into slush, conditions proved difficult on the second run, resulting in a DNF.
Fred Warburton and guide James Hannan left their mark on the Paralympic stage, finishing 14th in their final event of the Games. Having only started skiing just over a year ago, the result marks an impressive debut for the 31-year-old at his first Paralympic Winter Games.
Dominic Allen rounded out the day for the British team, making his Giant Slalom debut in the standing category as the youngest athlete representing Great Britain at the Winter Paralympic Games.
The 16-year-old delivered a composed first run to break into the top 30 before pushing hard on the second run to secure a 25th-place finish.
A packed first day of the Games saw all three of GB Snowsport’s para disciplines – Alpine, Biathlon and Snowboard – take to the start line.
Simpson claims best Paralympic Downhill result while Warburton makes debut
Neil Simpson opened his second Paralympic Games in style, finishing fourth in the Vision Impaired Downhill, guided by Andrew Simpson.
The brothers made a confident start to their run with some sharp turns on the opening section. A slight wobble midway down the course threatened to cost time, but a quick recovery saw Simpson clock 1:21.31, finishing less than three seconds outside the podium.
The result improves on his seventh-place finish at the Beijing Games in 2022.
Also in action was Paralympic debutant Fred Warburton, guided by James Hannan, with the pair racing in their first-ever Downhill competition.
Having only begun competing internationally in February 2025, the duo have made rapid progress to reach the Paralympic start gate.
Their time of 1:30.32 may not have challenged the front of the field, but it marked a significant moment for the young Brit who showed immense courage tackling his first Downhill race on the Paralympic stage.
The Alpine squad returns to action in the Super G on Monday 9 March.
Meenagh opens third Paralympic Games campaign
Scott Meenagh battled through a challenging start to his third Paralympic Winter Games in the Sprint Biathlon. After falling on the opening stretch, he managed to quickly recover and get back on track to finish the course.
Unfortunately, six missed targets on the shooting range peoved costly, leaving him unable to recover enough time as he crossed the line 24:54.3 to claim 23rd place.
While not the start he had hoped for at his third Paralympic Games, Meenagh is ready to go again tomorrow, where he is set to compete in the Individual.
Steady Seedings in Para Snowboard Cross
James Barnes-Miller and Davy Zyw both took to the start of the Para Snowboard Cross course, competing in the Upper Limb category.
Barnes-Miller marked his second Paralympic Games, securing a solid fifth place with a best time of 52.17, putting him in a strong position heading into the knockout rounds.
Zyw also began his Paralympic campaign, making history as what is thought to be the first athlete with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) to compete at the Winter Paralympic Games.
He posted a time of 58.58 to secure 18th on a demanding course that had already seen several other riders withdraw due to injury during training.
The pair race again in a knockout format on Sunday 8 March at 10:00 GMT.
Final wave of squad selections includes Britain’s most decorated Winter Paralympian alongside host of Games debutants
ParalympicsGB have confirmed the final swathe of GB Snowsport athletes selected to represent Britain at the Milano-Cortina Paralympic Winter Games, which begin next month.
Among a series of historic firsts for the Games, Nina Sparks is named as Britain’s first ever female Paralympic snowboarder, while Davy Zyw is understoof to be the first ever snowsport athlete with Motor Neurone Disease to compete at a Paralympic Winter Games.
Also named in the squad is Britain’s most decorated winter Paralympian, Menna Fitzpatrick, who is named after a period of rehabilitation from injury alongside guide Katie Guest in Para Alpine.
Other debutants selected in the second wave of squad announcements are Para Snowboarder Matt Hamilton, and Para Alpine skiers Dom Allen, Hester Poole, Sam Cozens, and Fred Warburton.
GB Snowsport would like to congratulate all of the athletes selected to represent ParalympicsGB at the Milano-Cortina Games.
Full Squad Selections
Para Alpine
- Menna Fitzpatrick, Katie Guest (guide)
- Sam Cozens, Adam Hall (guide)
- Fred Warburton, James Hannan (guide)
- Dom Allen
- Hester Poole, Ali Hall (guide)
- Neil Simpson, Andrew Simpson (guide), Rob Poth (guide)
Para Snowboard
- James Barnes-Miller
- Matt Hamilton
- Ollie Hill
- Nina Sparks
- Davy Zyw
Para Nordic
- Scott Meenagh
NEIL SIMPSON CLAIMS PARA ALPINE SILVER FOR FIFTH WORLD CUP MEDAL OF THE SEASON
Neil Simpson continued his impressive World Cup campaign with another top performance at the Para Alpine World Cup in Meribel, securing silver in Slalom to claim his fifth World Cup podium of the season. Guided by Rob Poth, the pair produced a strong showing to finish just 0.43 seconds off the top spot, marking Simpson’s first Slalom podium of the season.
The duo continued their week with two consecutive Giant Slalom races, finishing 6th in the first, before recording a DNF2 on day two.
PODIUM PERFORMANCE FROM BARNES-MILLER IN PARA SNOWBOARD CORSS
James Barnes-Miller stepped onto the podium at Big White to claim third place and his first Snowboard Cross medal of the season. The 36-year-old took an impressive third place behind Aron Fahrni of Switzerland and second placed Jacopo Luchini of Italy for his first SBX World Cup medal since February 2025. Ollie Hill finished 15th on day one of competition, but showed clear progression on day two, racing to eighth place after qualifying for the small final.
FINAL ALPINE WORLD CUP BEFORE THE OLYMPIC STAGE
Dave Ryding, Billy Major and Laurie Taylor lined up in Schladming for their final Slalom World Cup ahead of the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games. Ryding secured a place inside the top 30 on his opening run, before recording a DNF on run two. Major and Taylor both battled hard but narrowly missed qualification. Luca Carrick-Smith also saw his race cut short with a first run DNF on the demanding course.
Elsewhere, Owen Vinter took on his first Downhill World Cup in Crans Montana, finishing 57th and gaining valuable experience on the World Cup circuit.
SKI CROSS DOUBLE HEADER FOR DAVIES
Ollie Davies returned to action in with a Ski Cross World Cup double header in Val di Fassa. He finished 37th on day one, just a few spots away from qualifying, before placing 42nd on day two. The back-to-back races provided important mileage in the final phase of preparation ahead of his second Olympic Games.
Five medals, three of them gold, see Zoe Atkin, Mia Brookes, and Kirsty Muir make history
Gold Rush in Aspen
British athletes stormed to an historic five-medal showing at X Games 2026, with Zoe Atkin, Mia Brookes, and Kirsty Muir all leaving an indelible mark on the most storied of freestyle sport competitions.
Gold medal winning performance Atkin in Freeski Halfpipe, Brookes in Snowboard Slopestyle, and Muir in Freeski Slopestyle were backed up by Big Air silver and bronze medals for Muir and Brookes respectively, giving British athletes their biggest ever X Games medal haul, and confirming Britain’s standing as one of the most progressive nations in Park & Pipe competition.
Brookes kicked things off in spectacular style with a dominant Slopestyle victory, before Atkin put her own polish on proceedings with gold in the Superpipe. Brookes’ day two Big Air medal, delivered with a signature cab-14, put Britain at three podiums from three performanecs, before Muir capped things off in spectacular form with a brace of day three medals, and a best ever set of British X Games results.
Ryding signs off in Kitzbuehel with 20th
On a slope steeped in British Slalom history, Dave Ryding marked his final Kitzbuehel performance with a battling 20th place finish. The site of three of Ryding’s seven World Cup podiums, Kitzbuehel was written into British history when the country’s greatest ever Alpine ski racer took the nation’s first ever Slalom World Cup victory there in 2022, before following it up with a second place finish just a year later. While a fourth Kitzbuehel podium never appeared in the offing, Ryding was nevertheless the pick of the Brits, finishing just over a second outside of the top-10.
Billy Major secured a fifth top-30 berth of the season finishing in 24th, while Laurie Taylor was a first run DNQ and Luca Carrick-Smith a first run DNF, while in the Speed events Roy Steudle recorded a Super-G DNF and 53rd in Downhill.
Para squad deliver solid performances in Lenk and Jakuszyce
The Para Nordic and Para Snowboard squads recorded solid performances in the Jakuszyce Para Biathlon World Cup and Lenk Para Snowboard Cross World Cup and Europa Cup races, as teams gear up towards the Paralympic Winter Games in early March.
In Para Nordic, Scott Meenagh‘s best result came in the 7.5km Sprint where he finished fifth, before coming eighth and seventh in the Sprint Pursuit and 12.5km Individual events.
In Para Snowboard, James Barnes-Miller came closest to a medal finishing sixth and fourth in back-to-back showings, while Ollie Hill took seventh and ninth berths. In the Europa Cup field, Davy Zyw took his third EC podium of the season, and first in SBX, with a third place finish.
Taylor victorious in Melchsee-Frutt
Jaz Taylor added another Telemark World Cup victory to her illustrious record, winning the first of back-to-back Parallel Sprint World Cups in Melchsee-Frutt. The result gives Taylor her third podium and second victory of the 2025/26 World Cup season, and the third of her career in Melchsee-Frutt.
A jam-packed week saw success across multiple disciplines for GB Snowsport athletes
Neil Simpson goes four-from-four in Para Alpine
Neil Simpson delivered a series of standout performances at the Saalbach Para Alpine World Cup, taking four podiums from four races across Downhill and Super-G disciplines. A pair of DH bronze medals, guided by Andrew Simpson and by Rob Poth, and Super-G silver and bronze with Poth and Simpson respectively guiding made it a blue ribbon week for a discipline steeped in British Paralympic heritage.
Bankes’ brilliance to the fore in Snowboard Cross
Charlotte Bankes showed her world class standing in back-to-back World Cups in Dongbeiya, China, taking gold and bronze on consecutive days. A dominant performance in the weekend’s first race saw Bankes top the standings in qualifiers, quarters, semis, and finals, while the second day’s competition saw her grab bronze in a tightly-contested final races.
On the men’s side, Huw Nightingale continued to show his ability to mix it with the best in the world coming 17th in the weekend’s first contest after qualifying in 14th, while in the second of the weekend’s races, Max Vardy progressed to the knockout stages for the first time before finishing in 20th place.
Barnes-Miller bags silver in Kuehtai Para Snowboard World Cup
James Barnes-Miller grabbed a sensational silver medal in the Kuehtai Para Snowboard Banked Slalom World Cup alongside a seventh place finish in a typically competitive Men’s UL field. Barnes-Miller’s podium, his first of the World Cup season, came amid a week of strong Para Snowboard performances across the board, with Ollie Hill also taking a top-five finish, Nina Sparks twice finishing inside the top-ten, and Davy Zyw taking a brace of Europa Cup podiums with a silver and a bronze.
Taylor takes Telemark silver
Jaz Taylor‘s podium successes continued with a silver medal winning performance in the first of back-to-back Carezza World Cup races, and giving her a second podium of the season following her Sprint World Cup win in Pinzolo in December.
And the rest…
The Men’s Slalom team faced down battling conditions in the Lauberhorn slope in Wengen, with Luca Carrick-Smith the pick of the bunch, finishing 34th after the first run in a personal best World Cup showing. Billy Major and Laurie Taylor came in 41st and 42nd on the first run respectively, while Dave Ryding was a first run DNF with a straddle.
The Women’s night Slalom in Flachau saw Vici Palla record a first run DNF.
In Cross-Country, James Clugnet delivered the weekend’s best showing, finishing 32nd in Sprint Free qualifying to narrowly miss out on Finals, while in Moguls Makayla Gerken Schofield finished 26th in the individual women’s event in a race week impacted by poor weather conditions.
Para Snowboard star outstanding in high-calibre Kuehtai World Cup
James Barnes-Miller sealed his first Para Snowboard Banked Slalom World Cup podium since December 2022 with a superlative performance at the Kuehtai World Cup. The 36-year-old last finished in the medal spots in Banked Slalom in Big White at the tail end of 2022, and the result marks only his fourth trip to the podium in BSL World Cup racing.
Displaying outstanding speed and board control, Barnes-Miller’s time of 56.44s was enough to take silver by five hundredths of a second from France’s Maxime Montaggioni, with Swiss racer Aron Fahrni taking victory in 54.62s.
With today’s result Barnes-Miller, who is set to compete in his third Paralympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina in March, continued a proud record of Para Snowboard podium winning performances, which has seen him land World Cup medals in all but two seasons dating back to 2017.
In the same resort’s Europa Cup contests, Davy Zyw took his second and third career EC podiums, with a bronze medal winning performance in Friday’s BSL followed by a career-best silver in the second of the weekend’s races, finishing strongly in a deep Europa Cup field.
Simpson seals fourth speed medal in Saalbach
Neil Simpson’s Saalbach World Cup exploits saw him claim a remarkable fourth medal in four races with bronze in the second of back-to-back Super-G races. Guided on his fourth day of racing by brother and long-term guide Andrew, Simpson confirmed his standing as one of the finest Para Alpine VI skiers of his generation with a fifteenth career World Cup podium at just 23 years of age.
Returning Paralympians make up first cohort of Milan-Cortina Paralympic Winter Games Snowsport team
Six athletes competing across three Para Snowsport disciplines have been named in the first wave of Snowsport selections for the ParalympicsGB team set to travel for the Paralympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina next year.
Beijing 2022 Para Alpine double-medallist Neil Simpson is selected alongside guides Andrew Simpson and Rob Poth, while in Para Snowboard Ollie Hill and James Barnes-Miller return for their second and third Games respectively. Scott Meenagh, meanwhile, rounds out the first wave of selections being named to represent Britain in Para Nordic skiing for a third Paralympic Winter Games having made his debut in PyeongChang in 2018.
All six athletes were nominated and selected having fulfilled the A Band selection criteria, with a second wave of selections in Para Alpine and Para Snowboard due to be made in February 2026.
Speaking after selections were confirmed, James REdpath, GB Snowsport Head of Paralympic Programmes said:
“Everyone at GB Snowsport would like to congratulate Scott, Ollie, James, Neil, Andrew, and Rob on their selections for the ParalympicsGB team for next year’s Games. These selections are the result of four years of hard work and dedication from the athletes, their coaches, and the whole team that surrounds them, and represent a really proud moment for everyone involved in the process.
“As everyone knows, this isn’t the end of the hard work, but just the beginning of the next phase, for both these six athletes and the other skiers and snowboarders looking to cement their selection in the second round of nominations in February. All our athletes, and the whole team, are laser focused on ensuring we’re in a position to peak in March next year and make the Milan-Cortina Paralympic Winter Games another celebration of Britain’s strength in Para Snowsport.“
Beijing 2022 Para Snowboard bronze medallist, Ollie Hill, said:
“Lovely. Let’s see what we can cook up this games. Can’t believe it’s been 4 years already! How time flies….”
Scott Meenagh added:
“I am incredibly proud to be selected to represent Great Britain at the Paralympic Winter Games. Every time is incredibly special, and this year will be my third Games. This is a testament to the powerful dream we had as a group, when this journey was conceived in a coffee shop in 2016.
“A Games in Italy will be extra special as it’s much closer to home. To have my wife, children, family, and friends travelling to support me will help push me to another level.”
Everyone at GB Snowsport would like to congratulate all six of our selected athletes.
Kirsty Muir makes history while British athletes open their World Cup seasons across Alpine, Cross-Country, and Para Snowboard
British success on the Park & Pipe scene
A historic moment for Kirsty Muir who secured Britain’s first ever Freeski Big Air World Cup victory in her first competition of the season. Muir put down a flawless left double-14 safety and a textbook right double-10 mute to post an insurmountable score of 174.50 to top the leaderboard in Secret Garden. Muir’s victory came having topped the standings after qualifiers and provides a crucial lift for the 21-year-old as she returns to Bejing, where she claimed second place in the 2023 Big Air World Cup contest.
Following the weather-affected cancellation in Stubai the previous week, Tom Greenway and Chris McCormick were back with a vengeance, each delivering some of their most technically demanding runs. Greenway stomped a switch left-18 stale for a score of 76.60 which put him into 23rd place and McCormick followed closely behind with a switch right dub-18 tail, bagging him 26th place with a score of 74.50.
On the snowboard side, Maisie Hill impressed with a huge frontside 1080, while Katie Ormerod put down a clean Cab-9 and backside-7. Txema Mazet-Brown, meanwhile, came narrowly short of landing his Cab triple-16 indy in qualifiers.
More podiums followed at the ‘Rock A Rail’ Europa Cup in Latvia as Ella Hall secured her first win in the women’s ski category, building on her third place in Innsbruck last week. Mia Langridge produced another standout performance and backed-up last week’s podium with another silver medal in the women’s snowboard category, with British athletes proving major contenders on the rail-jam circuit.
Double Para-Snowboard World Cup in Landgraaf
The Para Snowboard World Cup season kicked off with back-to-back Banked Slalom races in Langraaf. Ollie Hill delivered two excellent runs in the LL2 category, securing a pair of 5th place finishes with a best time of 38.22.
Matt Hamilton also produced consistent results in the UL category with two 14th place results, while Nina Sparks placed 11th on the first day of competition, before a DNF on day two.
Musgrave and Clugnet return to WC action in Ruka
Andrew Musgrave and James Clugnet both made a double appearance at the Cross-Country World Cup in Ruka for their first World Cup of the season. Musgrave opened with a 26th place in the Interval Start Classic before pushing into the top 20 in the 20km Mass Start Free. Clugnet delivered 42nd in the Mass Start Free and 49th in the Sprint Final Classic respectively.
Steudle continues return from injury in Copper Mountain
Roy Steudle also made his first World Cup appearance of the season over in Copper Mountain finishing 66th as he builds momentum ahead of his next start in Beaver Creek tomorrow.
Header image: Li Runsheng