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UK Sport is set to raise performance targets for the next Winter Paralympics after Great Britain returned from Milano-Cortina with only a single silver medal.
ParalympicsGB failed to hit a reduced target of two to five medals in Italy, with only Neil Simpson making the podium following a second-placed finish in the men’s visually impaired alpine combination skiing. On Sunday Simpson did not finish either of his runs in the VI slalom, putting a final end to hopes of further success.
UK Sport determines public funding for Olympic and Paralympic sport and their director of performance, Dr Kate Baker, said there was pride to be taken from many performances at the Games. However, she said questions would also have to be asked over the future direction of the British winter Paralympic programme.
“I don’t think we could ever be disappointed in this group but I think we’re all committed to making sure that performance happens [at the 2030 Games],” Baker said. “Performance is the thing that gives us the platform to do all of the other important stuff that we’re doing out here.”
Asked if UK Sport would set a higher medal target for 2030 when the winter Olympic and Paralympic games will be held in the French Alps, Baker said: “Yes.”
UK Sport will now undertake a review process that is expected to be completed by the summer. “Of course we remain committed to Winter Paralympic sport,” Baker said, “but it’s also important that we do things in a way which is efficient and effective.”
Baker raised doubts over whether Britain can effectively compete in some winter Paralympic sports, especially the Nordic events of cross-country skiing and biathlon. Together the events form a third of the winter Paralympic programme, but only one British athlete qualified for competition, Scott Meenagh, and he finished no higher than 14th in his four events.
“For disciplines like slalom and curling, you can do those in the UK,” Baker said. “You can do it at a dry slope or you can do it at a low peak. I think we need to be realistic about our prospects across a wider range beyond that. Getting out on snow is a challenge. It’s a challenge because of Schengen restrictions. It’s a challenge because of climate change. But it’s an absolute non-negotiable. [Without that] we’re not going to be blessed with a wide base of people who are going to meet the classification and be physiologically the kind of specimen that would be required to be successful.”
ParalympicsGB’s chef de mission at the winter games, Phil Smith, said results had “obviously been tough” but that there was reason to be optimistic for 2030. “I still believe there’s a lot of positives that we can take from this going forward,” he said. “If you ran this week again, we could [have been] in the middle of that target with just a little bit more luck.
“I don’t think we need to completely start fresh, but I do think there’s some areas that the sport will need to look at. I think we would obviously want to say it after this week, but in 2030, there is an opportunity for us to continue to lay a marker down that we can be really competitive in Winter Paralympic sport.”
