Para alpine skiing is settled by the finest of margins, but falling on the wrong side of them can feel particularly cruel.
Such was the case for Neil Simpson who had to settle for a second agonising fourth-place finish at Milano Cortina 2026 as he failed to defend his super-G VI Paralympic title.
The 23-year-old visually impaired para alpine skier had taken a shock gold in the event four years ago but finished 1.1 seconds off the podium in Italy.
It put him just 2.4s away from the title he had earned at Beijing 2022, with the top three separated by 1.3s, in an event that punishes even the smallest of mistakes.
“There was some good skiing so I am pretty proud of some of that skiing. Unfortunately, a couple of mistakes, but it’s something to work on,” said Simpson.
“The section where there are a little more airtime and jumps, I didn’t quite have the line there. That just meant I didn’t have quite the speed coming over the flat.
“We’ll debrief it tonight and then go again tomorrow but I’m pretty proud of some of the skiing.”
It marked the first time Simpson had competed alongside guide Rob Poth at a Paralympic Games. The Scot had won gold in the event alongside his brother Andrew Simpson in China, and retained his services for his opening downhill event, with Poth guiding him for the more technical events.
But despite the change in guide, it was another fourth-place finish to the same top three as Austrian Johannes Aigner claimed a second gold, with the podium finishers seeming to have Simpson’s measure so far.
“I gave it my best shot, unfortunately it wasn’t to be, but it’s something that we need to use to learn for tomorrow and then obviously going into the giant slalom and slalom after that,” he added.
It is a familiar pragmatism from Simpson, who can take confidence from his proximity to the trio currently in the medals as he gears up for three more medal opportunities at the Games.
For Menna Fitzpatrick, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in December 2025, just getting to the start gate will have felt like a triumph in itself.
The visually impaired skier is the most decorated British athlete in Winter Paralympic history but has been plagued by injury over a frustrating two-year lead up to her third Games.
The ACL issue represented just another cruel blow. Opting against surgery, it ruled the Macclesfield-born skier out of World Cups throughout January and left her racing against time to build strength around her knee to compete at Milano Cortina.
But Fitzpatrick made it back alongside guide Katie Guest to finish sixth in the super-G, in a time of 1:25.52, as she builds into the Games.
“It’s so lovely to be out here finally after the last two seasons of being injured. But I had a lot of fun, and I’ve got great confidence in the knee itself,” she said.
“Just the girls are skiing really, really well and they’re really pushing the competition, but we’ll slowly get closer and closer. Fingers crossed.”
For many, an ACL tear would signal the end of hopes of a Paralympic tilt, but just as Lindsey Vonn had taken to the slopes following her rupture ahead of the Olympics, Fitzpatrick never saw her Games in doubt.
“The medical team were really confident, they know me and they know my personality of working really, really hard in the tough times,” she said. “I don’t think it was much of a question. They had every faith in me that I would be able to get back.”
Unlike Vonn, Fitzpatrick made it to the bottom in a more than respectable sixth that put her 5.83s off the podium places.
But with three more events ahead of her and a race under her belt, Fitzpatrick is confident she can build form and will target adding to her six-strong medal total in Italy.
“Now that I’ve done one, I’m way more excited and confident for the next races,” said the 27-year-old.
“It was definitely a step up from the downhill training runs. I managed to let the skis run a bit more which is a step in the right direction for sure. But I was way more confident and just really enjoyed this course.”
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