After the success of our Paralympians at the London Games of 2012, our athletes are now taking to the field in what promises to be a thrilling Winter Paralympics in the Russian resort of Sochi. Great Britain has a proud history of participating in every Winter Paralympics since the first event was held in Sweden back in 1976. In the intervening years, our athletes have done well, coming away with six Silver and 15 Bronze medals in total. But the coveted Gold has eluded us – up until now.
From Able Magazine #110 (March/April 2014), published before the Winter Paralympics
I along with sports’ fans throughout the country will be willing on Team GB in the hope that they break new ground and win the nation’s first Gold when the Games get underway on March 7. They have a fantastic opportunity to do just that. At January’s IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup in France, Jade Etherington and her guide Caroline Powell snatched two Gold medals in as many days.Winning the second of her two medals, she beat her Paralympic team-mate Kelly Gallagher and guide Charlotte Evans to the top spot by less than a second.
For a country that is not exactly blessed with an abundance of ski resorts, this was a fantastic achievement and something that both duos will take great heart from as they prepare to repeat their success in Sochi. I am proud to be representing the UK Government at the Games and will be attending the Opening Ceremony. I am very much looking forward to seeing our skiers compete the next day. Not only have they endured rigorous training to get where they are today, but many of our athletes have also overcome personal trauma to make it to the Games. Mick Brennan, for example, was a sergeant in the Royal Signals Regiment and was serving in Iraq when a suicide bomber exploded a device next to him in 2004. Mick had to have both legs amputated; one at the knee and one below the knee. As part of his rehabilitation programme, Mick took up adaptive skiing in 2008. He quickly became one of the country’s best disabled skiers and in January was named as part of the team that was Sochi-bound.
Anna Turney was a top snowboarder when she broke her back while competing on the circuit in 2006. After suffering such a traumatic accident and left physically unable to pursue her passion in the way that she had before, it would be understandable if Anna had given up on her ambition entirely. But, just a year after her terrible accident she was back on the slopes again, this time as a sit-skier. She made her Paralympic debut at the 2010 Games in Vancouver when she came sixth in the slalom. Anna built on this during the 2011 Alpine Skiing World Championships in Italy, when she narrowly missed out on the medals, finishing fourth in the giant slalom. Hopefully she will go one better and make it onto the podium in her new chosen sport in Sochi.
In total Great Britain will have 12 athletes and three guides competing and I wish them every bit of luck in their endeavours; I’m sure they will do us proud.