Britain’s most decorated Winter Paralympian secured fifth position in the women’s para alpine skiing slalom during her concluding appearance at the Milan-Cortina Games.
Menna Fitzpatrick completed the course in one minute and 36.38 seconds, bringing her third Paralympic campaign to a positive conclusion.
In a remarkable display of determination, Fitzpatrick chose to forgo anterior cruciate ligament surgery back in December, prioritising her participation in these Games over immediate medical intervention.
This decision allowed the decorated skier to take part in what proved to be a challenging build-up to the competition.
Throughout the Milan-Cortina Paralympics, Fitzpatrick recorded consistent performances across multiple disciplines.
She achieved sixth place in both the giant slalom VI and Super G events, while the combined alpine saw her finish ninth.
Saturday’s slalom competition unfolded across two runs.
The British athlete posted 47.37 seconds in her opening effort to sit fifth.
Menna Fitzpatrick secured fifth position in the women’s para alpine skiing slalom during her concluding appearance at the Milan-Cortina Games
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REUTERS
Her second descent proved marginally slower at 48.30 seconds, placing her sixth for that run.
Her combined total was sufficient to maintain fifth overall.
These final two races provided Fitzpatrick with solid momentum following what had been a difficult preparation period leading into the Games.
The six-time Paralympic medallist has now turned her attention towards the 2030 Winter Games, which will be held in the French Alps.
Menna Fitzpatrick completed the course in one minute and 36.38 seconds
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REUTERS
When asked about her future intentions, Fitzpatrick said: “Do you know what, not massively.”
“Each cycle you lead up to the games and you have that end goal in mind.
“I do want to go to France if I can in 2030, so yeah I’ll have a bit of time and then switch back into training.”
Fitzpatrick claimed slalom gold at the 2018 Paralympics.
Fitzpatrick claimed slalom gold at the 2018 Paralympics
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GETTY
The victory established her among the elite in para alpine skiing.
Speaking to Channel 4, she added: “Yeah, it probably was my best performance.
“As an athlete, you’ve got to work with what you’ve got and every little bump in the way is good resilience training I would say.
“You just have to know deep down that I have the skill and I just need to get it out on race day.”
