Paralympic star Simpson’s car ends hopes of competing in Rio
Neil Simpson won gold and bronze in Beijing 2022 but could not match that tally in Cortina as his slalom hopes were scuppered by straddling an early gate
Just as quickly as sunglasses had been discarded in favour of snow boots in Cortina D’Ampezzo, hopes of another ParalympicsGB medal had disappeared. Winter Paralympians woke up to the sound of snow ploughs in a bright new wintery world in Italy as 25 centimetres of snowfall overnight transformed the settings in the Dolomites. It was a stark contrast to the bright sun and melting snow that had characterised much of the Games and appeared to set up fittingly magical surroundings for what was billed to be GB’s best chance of a gold at Milano Cortina 2026.
Neil Simpson had finished top of the field in the slalom component of his silver medal-winning alpine combined alongside guide Rob Poth, and all signs looked up for the visually impaired skier. A spot on the podium would place ParalympicsGB within their medal target of two to five set by UK Sport and provide needed glitz to round off the final day of competition. But just seconds into his first run, Simpson straddled a gate to sink all hopes of a medal before the day had even truly begun.
“It’s part of ski racing and it’s just one of those things,” said the 23-year-old. “It is obviously disappointing just now. We’ll take a bit of time to process it.
We’re skiing well in slalom and it’s unfortunate, but it is just one of those things. It’s a risk. ” Simpson had also missed a gate in his first run of the giant slalom on Friday, another event which he had entered as one of the favourites and failed to deliver.