Three is the magic number for Fitzpatrick in Veysonnaz

Menna Fitzpatrick racked up a third gold medal of a stellar week in Veysonnaz with a hard-fought giant slalom World Cup victory.

ParalympicGB’s most successful Winter Paralympian had already claimed two super-G wins, as well as a silver medal, in the Swiss Alps but was forced to produce her best skiing to make it a treble.

Fitzpatrick, alongside guide Jen Kehoe, laid down a sterling first run on Saturday morning – crossing the line in 1:04.88 to lead Australian rival Melissa Perrine by 1.27 seconds.

Perrine and her guide Bobbi Kelly responded second time down the slopes in the afternoon however, by clocking 1:02.21 to set a total of 2:08.36 for the Brits to chase.

Fitzpatrick and Kehoe were actually slower than the Australians on the second run but the advantage already built up proved crucial as a total time of 2:07.77 was enough to triumph by 0.59 seconds.

The British pair – who claimed one gold, two silvers and a bronze medal at PyeongChang 2018 – will now look to finish the week in style by earning a fourth gold in the final race, another giant slalom, on Sunday.