Poole vows ‘redemption arc’ after crash on Paralympic debut

“Some people have glory stories, some people have redemption arcs.”

Hester Poole is going for the latter.

At just 18 years old, the British Para-alpine skier would have been forgiven for feeling a bit down in the dumps after crashing out on her debut at the Winter Paralympics.

But that’s not her style.

After skiing out early on in her first giant slalom run on Thursday, losing her balance and brutally tumbling down the piste as her guide Ali Hall could only watch on, Poole brushed herself down and has already turned her focus to her next race.

“Of course I would have liked to put down a good run for my Paralympic debut,” said Poole, who was born with the rare eye disease Leber congenital amaurosis and has only 5-10% vision.

“But some people come here and have glory stories, get gold straight away and then have to defend that, some people have redemption arcs – so that’s the angle I’m going for now.

“I’ve still got the slalom to come on Saturday, I’m looking forward to it a lot. I’m going to just try and put this out the way and start fresh on Saturday and hopefully put down some good times.”

Poole, from Bath, only found out she would be competing at the Milan-Cortina Games three weeks before it started.

On her crash, she said: “It wasn’t ideal, I think no-one can really argue with that.

“I think generally though it’s not the joy of the finish, it’s the joy of the race.

“I was fighting out of the start gate so that’s what I can take from it.”

Poole was joined in the race by British team-mate Menna Fitzpatrick, a veteran of three Games and the nation’s most decorated Winter Paralympian with six medals from her previous two Games.

Asked what she would say to Poole, Fitzpatrick – who placed sixth in the giant slalom – said: “You might get knocked down, but it’s how you pick yourself back up. I’ve had a lot of those, especially those last two years, but you’ve got to really go back to what you know and deep down you know how good a skier you can be.

Fitzpatrick came into these Games on the back foot having first broken her leg and then sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury, all within the past 18 months.

After the second injury she opted against surgery in a bid to make the Games, and has achieved a ninth-place finish and two of sixth in her three events so far.

Having missed so much of the past two seasons, she admits the challenge she and her guide, Katie Guest, have is keeping up with their competitors, but with the slalom to come, the event in which Fitzpatrick won Paralympic gold in 2018, she feels each race is a “good step in the right direction”.

“I’ve definitely grown in confidence into the last few races. It’s feeling a bit more like myself and my own skiing,” she said.

“Seeing the girls really push on and seeing their technique, they’re really helping to grow the sport and it’s really nice to see 15 [skiers] on the start list.

“I’ve just got to keep up with them, I guess.”