GB’s Simpson misses out on Paralympic title defence

Britain’s Neil Simpson said “a couple of mistakes” stopped him from defending his Paralympic super G title as he finished fourth in Cortina.

Four years ago in Beijing, Simpson and his brother and guide Andrew won the nation’s only gold of the Games in the visually impaired super G, a victory that cemented him as the first British man to win gold at a Winter Paralympics.

This time around, Simpson was led by Rob Poth after a late switch of guide, but after struggling on the mid-section of the Tofane piste, the British pair crossed the finish line 1.1 seconds shy of a podium finish.

“There was some good skiing, so I’m pretty proud. Unfortunately there were just a couple of mistakes,” said 23-year-old Simpson, who with Poth won the 2023 super G World Championship title.

“The section where there was a bit more air time and jumps, I just didn’t quite have the line there, so that just meant I didn’t have the speed over the flat.”

Austria’s Johannes Aigner won gold for his second Paralympic title of the Games, having also won the downhill.

Simpson’s British team-mate Fred Warburton placed 12th with his guide James Hannan after a run he described as a “bit of a battle”.

Both British pairs will compete in a further three events at the Milan-Cortina Games.

Those start with Tuesday’s alpine combined – an event in which skiers race both a super G and slalom course.

Earlier, Menna Fitzpatrick – Britain’s most decorated Winter Paralympian with six medals – made her first appearance at these Games with a sixth-place finish in the women’s visually impaired super G.

Fitzpatrick has endured a torrid build-up over the last 18 months, having broken her leg at the end of 2024 before sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in training in December.

She opted to avoid surgery in a bid to reach the Games, and after training runs on the course last week, the 27-year-old and her guide Katie Guest chose to skip Saturday’s downhill event in order to focus on her more preferred events.

In the super G, an event in which Fitzpatrick won silver and bronze at the past two Games, the British duo finished in one minute 25.52 seconds, more than 10 seconds behind Italy’s Chiara Mazzel, who won gold for the hosts.

“It was a step up from our training runs,” said Fitzpatrick.

“I managed to let the skis run a bit more, which is a step in the right direction for sure. I was way more confident and really enjoyed the course.

“It’s so lovely to actually be out here after the last two seasons of being injured. I had a lot of fun and I’ve got great confidence in the knee itself, just the [other] girls are skiing really well and they’re pushing the competition, so we’ll slowly get closer.