A key prerequisite of a Winter Paralympics is adequate snow, but a piste packed with salt caused consternation for skiers as British medal favourite Neil Simpson saw his day end early.
Simpson had entered his men’s giant slalom VI event firmly among the favourites after winning ParalympicsGB’s first – and so far only – medal at Milano Cortina 2026 in alpine combined.
The 23-year-old was second out of the gate at Tofane Ski Centre, and the first Brit in action, but caused medal hopes on day seven to plummet when he skied wide of a gate halfway down the course.
With no second chances in Para-alpine skiing, it meant that by little later than 9am in Cortina D’Ampezzo, GB had already had the day’s dreams significantly dampened.
“We just made a slight line error. In the end it was very costly unfortunately,” Simpson reflected.
“There was some good skiing, and we will try and take confidence from that. We will regroup and get ready for the slalom on Sunday.”
Simpson was one of three that did not finish in his event, as the visually impaired category benefitted from taking to the slope when it was in its best condition.
His disappointment then was attributed to a technical error by himself and guide Rob Poth, who were ahead of eventual gold medallist Giacomo Bertagnolli when Simpson missed the gate.
There remains hope, then, for the duo in their favoured slalom event on the final day of action at the Winter Paralympics.
The pair finished top of the slalom standings when they won silver in the men’s alpine combined and will take to the slope for a final time looking to match Simpson’s Beijing 2022 medal tally.
"That's ski racing. You have your highs and lows. We know the skiing is there in training. Really positive stuff that we were up at that point, it just adds a little bit to the frustration,” said 28-year-old guide Poth.
“We're not going to dwell on it too much. We have another race day and maybe another short training session to get fully prepared, but we are ready to go.
“The confidence is still there in the training. Hopefully we have a good last race."
But while just three athletes did not finish in Simpson’s race, by the time the standing and sitting categories had run on the course, that number had increased to 29 athletes across three races.
The sit skiers, who take to the course last, accounted for 18 of those with salt used to preserve the course heavily relied upon in Cortina.
“There was more salt in that piste than in the dead sea,” proclaimed British Para-alpine skier Fred Warburton.
“One gate was absolutely rock solid where the salt had set in and the next gate was like a bathtub of slush puppy.
“It was just the inconsistency of that surface that made it feel a bit like survival of the fittest out there.”
Conditions in Cortina D’Ampezzo have been far from ideal for maintaining pistes befitting the level of the world-class athletes competing on them.
Rainfall on Thursday had only compounded issues on a sunny week in the Dolomites, causing the Para-snowboarding to be moved forward a day.
But while Simpson failed to deliver a medal, there was history made in the impromptu banked slalom races amid a flurry of British debuts.
Nina Sparks made history in the banked slalom as she became the first woman to represent Paralympics GB in Para snowboarding.
The 35-year-old finished 10th in the SB-LL2 category after improving in her second run.
“It’s definitely not sunk in,” she said. “[It’s been a] pretty crazy day. To have just put down a run that I’m really, really proud of. I will take that.”
The youngest member of the ParalympicsGB team in Italy also made his debut, as 16-year-old Dom Allen finished 25th in 2:41.35 in the Para-alpine skiing giant slalom standing.
“I’m absolutely ecstatic, especially finishing both my runs. It’s my dream to become a Paralympian and I can tick that off now,” he said.
There were also debuts for Matt Hamilton in the Para snowboarding and Sam Cozens in the Para-alpine skiing, alongside guide Adam Hall, who hails from Aberdeen.
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