14 March 2018
Meenagh marginally misses semis in cross-country sprint
Fourth time out for Meenagh
It’s been less than a week since Scott Meenagh made his Paralympic debut at PyeongChang 2018 but the Para Nordic skier already seems like a mainstay for ParalympicsGB after completing his fourth race in five days at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre.
With soft snow and temperatures rising in PyeongChang Meenagh was faced with another testing race as he lined up for the men’s cross-country skiing 1.1km sprint.
It proved to be yet more evidence that Meenagh is right at home at this level as he clocked 3:17.72 to finish 16th in the qualification runs – four places away from a semi-final spot.
“I hadn’t realised where I’d finished when I crossed the line,” said Meenagh. “Obviously I would have liked to have made the semi-finals but when you’re out there you just give it everything and see where you stand.
“The conditions were tough, it was a tough race but at the end of the day that is what we are here for.
“The snow was softer was normal, there were quite a lot of holes around the start which made it difficult but we’re all racing the same snow so there’s no problems there, it’s just about who comes on top on the day.
“But I really enjoyed it, I’ll take that today.”
The sprint was Meenagh's fourth of six races at PyeongChang
Learning what it takes
For Meenagh the whole experience of PyeongChang 2018 has been a learning curve and he admits he is seeing exactly what it takes to make it to the top of the podium.
“You have to attack and be prepared to take risks, this race is so much different to the ones that have gone before so you have to hit it hard and don’t be scared.
“You saw some of the best skiers in the world taking risks and falling over, it’s the gamble they’re taking but when it pays off, it’s the reason they end up on the podium.”
It’s a case of four down and two to go for the Scot now with the men’s15km biathlon to come on Friday before he brings the curtain down on his time in South Korea with the 7.5km cross-country on Saturday.
“I’m getting there with enjoying this type of race but now I’ve got some more to come, now is about recovering well, getting back on the snow and ready for the runs.
“I’ll just go through the normal strategies, we’ve worked through different things on the World Cup season so it’s about doing the same things.”
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