Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | [1] Macclesfield, England | 5 May 1998 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.5 m (5 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 55 kg (121 lb) [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | Great Britain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Para-alpine skiing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Disability class | B2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Partner | Katie Guest | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former partner | Jennifer Kehoe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coached by | Amanda Pirie | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Menna Fitzpatrick MBE (born 5 May 1998) is a British alpine skier. [3] [4] She is visually impaired having only 5% vision and formerly skied with guide Jennifer Kehoe until 2021. [5] They competed at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang in March 2018 [3] where they took four medals, including a gold in the slalom, making Fitzpatrick Team GB's most decorated Winter Paralympian. [6]
She was born in Macclesfield, [7] Cheshire, and studied Media Production at the Macclesfield College. [2] Fitzpatrick has congenital retinal folds, meaning that she has had no vision in her left eye and limited sight in her right eye since birth. Despite this, she learned to ski whilst on family holidays from the age of five with her father acting as her guide. She was discovered by a coach whilst skiing at the Chill Factore indoor slope in Manchester in 2010, and subsequently started training with the British Para Snowsport team. She made her international debut for Great Britain in 2012. [8]
In 2016, Fitzpatrick and Kehoe were the first British winners of the overall World Cup Visually Impaired title at the International Paralympic Committee's World Cup in Aspen. [4] It was Fitzpatrick's first season competing at World Cup level: she and Kehoe also won the discipline title for giant slalom that season, as well as placing second in the super-G classification and third in the downhill and slalom standings. [8] In 2016, she was awarded the Ski Club of Great Britain's annual Evie Pinching award "which celebrates the next generation of young, up-and-coming snow sports athletes". [9]
In October 2016, Fitzpatrick broke her hand during super-G training ahead of the 2016–17 season, keeping her off the snow for two months and requiring her to have surgery. Despite this, she and Kehoe were able to claim a bronze medal in the giant slalom at the 2017 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships in Tarvisio. The following season the pair took the discipline World Cup title for super-G. [8]
At the 2018 Winter Paralympics, Fitzpatrick and Kehoe took a bronze in the super-G and two silvers in the combined and the giant slalom before taking slalom gold on the final day of the Games. [10] [6]
Fitzpatrick was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2018 Birthday Honours for "Services to Paralympic Winter Olympic Sport". [11]
At the 2019 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships Fitzpatrick and Kehoe took five medals, securing bronze in the giant slalom and silver in the slalom [12] before winning gold in the downhill ahead of compatriots Kelly Gallagher and Gary Smith, becoming the first British skiers to win both Paralympic and World Para titles. [13] They then took a second gold in the super-G before rounding off their championships with a second silver in the combined. [14]
On 25 August 2021, she announced the end of her partnership with Kehoe and that she was seeking a new guide. [15] In 2022, she won the silver medal in the women's visually impaired super combined event at the 2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships held in Lillehammer, Norway alongside new guide, Katie Guest (sister of British Alpine World Cup skier, Charlie Guest). [16] [17] [18]
She won two medals in alpine skiing at the 2022 Winter Paralympics held in Beijing, China. [19]
Evelyn Amie "Evie" Pinching was a British alpine skier, born in Norwich, who won the 1936 women's downhill and combined events in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Innsbruck, Austria. She also competed in the 1936 Winter Olympics, where she finished ninth in the alpine skiing combined. In 1937 Pinching won the Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbühel.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has participated in every summer and winter Paralympic Games.
Russell Docker is a British Paralympic skier. Docker was paralysed from the chest down after he broke two vertebrae in his back in a five-metre fall while on a skiing holiday in 1995. He has competed at three Winter Paralympic Games, his best finish was a 23rd place in 2006.
Kelly Gallagher MBE, is a retired British skier and the first athlete from Northern Ireland to compete in the Winter Paralympics. Gallagher won Britain's first ever Winter Paralympic gold medal during Sochi 2014.
Melissa Perrine is a B2 classified visually impaired para-alpine skier from Australia. She has competed at the four Winter Paralympics from 2010 to 2022. At the 2015 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships, she won three gold, one silver and one bronze medals. At the 2018 Winter Paralympics, she won two bronze medals.
Mitchell Gourley is an Australian Paralympic alpine skier who competed for Australia in the downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom and super combined events at four Winter Paralympics - 2010 to 2022. He was Australian team co-captain with Joany Badenhorst at the 2018 Winter Paralympics. At the 2022 Winter Paralympics, he and Melissa Perrine carried the Australian flag in the opening ceremony. At the 2017 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in Tarvisio, Italy he won the gold medal in the men's Super Combined Standing.
Christian Geiger is an Australian Alpine skier, Paralympic alpine ski coach and sighted guide for visually impaired skiers. He was Jessica Gallagher's guide skier at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, winning a bronze medal. He represented Australia at the 2008 World Junior Alpine Skiing Championships and the 2009 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, but his career was cut short when he was severely injured in a traffic collision in 2009. He became Jessica Gallagher's sighted guide in 2013, and guided her to silver medals in women's slalom and giant slalom at the 2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup in Thredbo. Geiger was Melissa Perrine's guide and coach at the 2018 Winter Paralympics where she won two bronze medals.
Anna Katharina Schaffelhuber is a German para-alpine skier. At the 2014 Winter Paralympics she won five gold medals, becoming only the second athlete to sweep the alpine skiing events.
James Whitley is a British alpine skier, who competes in the slalom, giant slalom SuperG, Downhill and Super Combined events. A promising junior skier, Whitley qualified to represent Great Britain's team at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi for his debut Paralympics. In January 2018 it was announced by BPA and PSGB (ParaSnowSportsGB) that Whitley had been selected to compete in Pyeongchang in the 2018 Winter Paralympics. In February 2022, Whitley was named by the BPA as part of the ParalympicsGB squad for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics.
Millicent Genevieve Knight is a British skier and student who competes at international level for ParalympicsGB in alpine skiing in the slalom, giant slalom Super-G, super combined and Downhill events with a sighted guide, Brett Wild. When Knight was one year old, she contracted an illness, diagnosed at age three, which resulted in the loss of most of her vision by the age of six. She joined the Great Britain Paralympic skiing team in 2012, and progressed to compete at international-level events. Knight was the British flagbearer at Sochi in 2014 – her debut Paralympics - where, at the age of 15, she was the youngest person ever to compete for ParalympicsGB at the Winter Games. In the same year Knight also became an Honorary Doctor of the University of Kent.
Jade Etherington is a British former alpine skier who, with her sighted guide Caroline Powell, won silver in the women's downhill skiing, combined and slalom, and bronze medals in the Super-G at the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi. Their three silvers and a bronze at the Winter Paralympics made them the most successful female British Winter Paralympians of all time, and the first Britons to win four medals at one Paralympics. Because of her success at the 2014 Paralympics, Etherington was the British flagbearer at the 2014 Winter Paralympics closing ceremony.
Anna-Lena Forster is a German para-alpine skier who competed at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Winter Paralympics winning six medals.
Alexandra "Alex" Tilley is a Scottish alpine ski racer. She is from Torphins, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Alice Robinson is a New Zealand World Cup alpine ski racer. At age sixteen, she competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in giant slalom and slalom. She represented New Zealand in the giant slalom event at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Major Jennifer "Jen" Kehoe is an author and former professional skier, formerly competing with visually impaired athlete Menna Fitzpatrick as her sighted guide on the IPC World Cup circuit and has represented Great Britain winning four medals including gold at the Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Games in South Korea becoming Britains most decorated winter Paralympians. She was a British Army Officer.
Great Britain competed at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, China which took place between 4–13 March 2022.
Bobbi Kelly is an Australian skier and sighted guide for visually impaired skiers. She was Melissa Perrine's guide at the 2022 Winter Paralympics.
Oliver Hill is a British para-snowboarder and former motorcycle racer. He competes in snowboarding events for athletes with lower limb disabilities. Hill came third in the banked slalom events at the 2022 Winter Paralympics and 2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships.
Shona Brownlee MBE is a British skier and Royal Air Force Corporal. She won two medals at the 2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships, and competed at the 2022 Winter Paralympics.
Melissa "Mel" Pemble is a Canadian para alpine skier and para cyclist. She won back-to-back gold medals in omnium C3 at the 2022 and 2023 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships. She won two medals in para-cycling at the 2023 Parapan American Games.