Teenager Dominic Allen defies age to impress on Paralympic debut

Dominic Allen defied his age to sparkle on his Paralympic debut in the Para alpine skiing.

The 16-year-old from Fife is the youngest member of the ParalympicsGB team out in Milano Cortina 2026, but completed both his runs on a tricky course to deliver on his debut in Italy.

Allen, who is currently a pupil at St. Leonards School in St. Andrews, finished 25th in the men’s giant slalom standing in a total time of 2:41.35 to lay down an early marker in a skiing career that is only on the up.

“I’m ecstatic. Especially after finishing both my runs, that’s quite nice just to top off my debut,” he said.

“It’s like the biggest adrenaline rush of my life. I completed what I wanted to do, which is get out of the gate.

“It is basically my dream to become a Paralympian, and I have ticked that off now.

“Now it is just moving onto the next thing. It is something special to call yourself a Paralympian.”

Allen was competing in an event that saw eight competitors fail to finish, with conditions on the slopes made difficult owing to the arrival of spring in Cortina D’Ampezzo.

Rainfall paired with bright sun had started to melt the snow, meaning the course was packed with salt to keep it firm, but athletes still struggled.

It makes Allen’s two complete runs all the more impressive on his debut, though the teenager, who grew up in Switzerland, was still identifying areas for improvement.

He added: “It wasn’t the prettiest, but I’m still ecstatic about it. It could be better, but I think with the track and the conditions, it was definitely a better one.”

In the men’s giant slalom VI, Fred Warburton and his guide James Hannan came home in 12th, as he improved on his second run to post an overall time of 2:38.97.

He was the only Brit to finish the race; however, Neil Simpson remains confident of securing a second medal at Milano Cortina after a costly line choice caused him to miss a gate.

The resultant DNF marked next to his name represented a disappointing outcome for an event Simpson, along with guide Rob Poth, had entered as one of the favourites.

The Para alpine skier from Banchory, Scotland, was ahead of the event leader on time when he missed a gate in the middle of the course, to see his event come to an early end on his first run.

“There was some good skiing, we just made a slight line error. In the end, it was very costly, unfortunately,” the 23-year-old reflected.

“There was some good skiing, and we will try and take confidence from that. We will regroup and get ready for the slalom on Sunday.”

Sam Cozens completed his first run and was placed 11th at the halfway stage but was unable to finish his second.

He was still delighted to officially become a Paralympian as he made his Games debut in Cortina.

The 19-year-old said: “That’s the good part of the day. I’m over the moon. Like I said before, it’s been a dream of mine for so many years, and we’ve finally done it. I’m pretty sure Adam [Hall, guide] is pretty happy with it, too.

“It has been a dream of mine for so many years. I couldn’t have wished for a better [first] run, really.”