Fitzpatrick earns best finish in Cortina as Poole plots comeback

Menna Fitzpatrick saved her best until last to earn her best finish at Milano Cortina 2026 in the women’s slalom VI.

The 27-year-old, skiing with guide Katie Guest, finished fifth in final women’s Para alpine skiing event in a total time of 1:35.67.

It put her 3.7 seconds off the podium, and having already earned two sixth-placed finishes as well as a ninth, was her best result on the Tofane ski slopes.

“I think it’s been a really successful Games for us considering where I was before these Games, especially the performance today,” she said.

“We really went out there and pushed it and we’re really happy with the result.”

Fitzpatrick had experienced a disrupted four-year cycle in the build up to the Winter Paralympics, effectively missing the past two seasons through injury.

A broken leg ruled her out of ²⁰²⁴⁄₂₅ before an ACL injury in December 2025 put her Milano Cortina 2026 tilt in doubt.

Opting against surgery, Fitzpatrick made it to Cortina D’Ampezzo against the odds but had to come to terms with a change in expectations.

“As an athlete you always want to hope for your absolute best skiing in a race, but it often doesn’t happen like that,” Fitzpatrick reflected.

“As athletes we’re really hard on ourselves when things are tough. It’s been a challenging two weeks for sure but just knowing that I’ve got these performances within me, even if the preparation didn’t go quite to plan.”

Great Britain’s most decorated Winter Paralympian is familiar with podiums, but her experience in Italy has only left her hungrier for the future.

“Every end of a cycle marks a new challenge. My plan is to hopefully make it to France in 2030. I first learned to ski in France so it’s almost like going home,” she said.

“That would be a really cool one for me to aim for.”

And Hester Poole is also plotting her comeback for the French Alps 2030 after her debut at the Winter Paralympics.

She faced disappointment after straddling a gate late on in the course which led to disqualification in the women’s slalom VI where she was guided by Ali Hall.

But while the 18-year-old will allow herself to feel the hurt of an athlete aiming for the top, she is ready bounce back in four years’ time when she will still only be 22.

“It gives so much motivation. People talk a lot about the adrenaline, and the good feelings sport gives you to keep going but no one really talks about the bad feelings and how low sport can make you go,” she said.

“We talk a lot about the highs but not so much about the lows, but it’s not about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and get back up and keep hitting.

“This definitely gives me more fire and more motivation to keep pushing.”