Scott Meenagh proud after final Paralympic Para biathlon race

Three-time Paralympian Scott Meenagh celebrated his final appearance in a Para biathlon event at the Winter Paralympics with a performance to be proud of.

The 36-year-old is set to call time on his Nordic skiing career at the end of the Games having made his debut at PyeongChang 2018.

He finished 14th in the men’s sprint pursuit final on Friday, though his competition at Milano Cortina 2026 is not quite over with a Para cross-country race still to come.

And he has continued to grow into the competition in Italy after putting a shaky start behind him.

“I am very proud of my ability to come back and express my own athletic identity and showcase what my range process can look like, especially when I had a couple of really difficult days at the start,” he reflected.

“I have had to really grow and adapt very quickly in quite a short period of time.”

Meenagh improved his position from qualifying, as he moved up one place in the final.

The Cumbernauld native took two shooting penalties in the final but delivered a strong performance on his Paralympic Para biathlon goodbye, to finish in 12:09.0.

“I had to have a solid qualifier which I was able to do and even with the one, with this course it makes it really difficult if you can’t go zero, but I put myself in a decent spot to fight for a few places towards the back end,” he said.

“I had to come out swinging in the afternoon, and I came out and gave it absolutely everything. I would love to be clean across the board but that is the sport.”

And now attention turns towards his final-ever Paralympic race, having grown the British Nordic skiing governing body from the ground up since 2014.

He will compete in unfamiliar territory in the Para cross-country skiing event, unburdened by the potential penalties of a missed target, and will aim to end on a high.

“The cross-country 20km is often the very last race of the season and it’s a great event to take part in,” he explained.

“For me, I couldn’t not do this event. It’s the very last day of the Paralympic Games. It’s probably the very last day of my racing career. To just enjoy every single moment of that is something I’m really looking forward to.

“But I’m not messing about either, I’ve been working hard and I’m going to showcase that on Sunday.”