Just as quickly as sunglasses had been discarded in favour of snow boots in Cortina D’Ampezzo, hopes of another ParalympicsGB medal had disappeared.
Winter Paralympians woke up to the sound of snow ploughs in a bright new wintery world in Italy as 25 centimetres of snowfall overnight transformed the settings in the Dolomites.
It was a stark contrast to the bright sun and melting snow that had characterised much of the Games and appeared to set up fittingly magical surroundings for what was billed to be GB’s best chance of a gold at Milano Cortina 2026.
Neil Simpson had finished top of the field in the slalom component of his silver medal-winning alpine combined alongside guide Rob Poth, and all signs looked up for the visually impaired skier.
A spot on the podium would place ParalympicsGB within their medal target of two to five set by UK Sport and provide needed glitz to round off the final day of competition.
But just seconds into his first run, Simpson straddled a gate to sink all hopes of a medal before the day had even truly begun.
“It’s part of ski racing and it’s just one of those things,” said the 23-year-old. “It is obviously disappointing just now. We’ll take a bit of time to process it. We’re skiing well in slalom and it’s unfortunate, but it is just one of those things. It’s a risk.”
Simpson had also missed a gate in his first run of the giant slalom on Friday, another event which he had entered as one of the favourites and failed to deliver.
The Banchory Para-alpine skier had finished fourth in his downhill and Super-G runs, before the introduction of a strong slalom helped him jump from fourth to second in the alpine combined.
It gave every indication of the beginnings of a medal run for the Scot who looked unstoppable in the technical events.
Simpson had claimed gold and bronze at Beijing 2022 aged just 19, and despite being within reach of bettering that tally in Italy, he could not match it on the Tofane slopes as another DNF symbolised the end of British hopes.
“It’s annoying that it happened today,” reflected guide Poth. “We know that Neil’s slalom skiing is the best shape it’s ever been in, and after that combined run the medals and the gold were in our grasp.
“[The course] was a little bit soft at the top, but whether it’s soft or not, straddling is still part of ski racing in the best of conditions so it’s part of the game. We have to accept that.
“That’s just the way it is. We know the speed is there. We just use that as confidence, and we go and smash the next year and all the next slalom races.”
It is an unfortunate ending for a Games that have fallen flat from a medal perspective for ParalympicsGB.
But Simpson will no doubt be back to show the potential that could not find its stage at the Winter Paralympics.
“It’s a big year with World Champs and as I said the speed is there. We just need to chill and then go again,” added Poth.
“We take it step-by-step, year-by-year, but definitely it is fuel to the fire to make a point and hopefully prove it at the next big event or the next World Cups.”
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ParalympicsGB have further medal hopes dashed as Neil Simpson misses early gate
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