This entry was posted on Monday, March 10th, 2014at 12:34 pm by zoe.leahy@activenation.org.uk

Paralympics GB Making History And Winning Medals In Sochi

What a BRILLIANT start to the Winter Paralympics in Sochi! After just three days of competition Great Britain already has a Gold, Silver and Bronze medal. History is being made in Russia!

Active Nation’s Rising Star Jade Etherington and guide Caroline Powell got the team on the medals table with Silver in the visually impaired downhill on Saturday – becoming the first British woman to win a Winter Paralympic medal on the snow.

The Lincoln trainee teacher only has 5 per cent of vision after she was born with Axenfield’s syndrome, a genetic condition that causes fluid blockages in the eye that can lead to total blindness.

“We had a good run despite my crash at the end. I think I was just so happy to go through the line that I couldn’t stop in time. I was aiming for the finish line, saying “go, go, go” and listening to Caroline. I hope I have done GB proud,” Jade told BBC Radio 5 Live.

With no competitions on Sunday, Jade was able to celebrate her 23rd birthday and prepare for the visually impaired super-G this morning. Despite colliding with a gate and losing one of her poles Jade still managed to finish 3rd. But, Jade’s misfortune saw team mate Kelly Gallagher and her guide Charlotte Evans finish in first place to win Britain’s first ever Winter Paralympics Gold medal.

Kelly, who has oculocutaneous albinism, a condition with affects the pigment in her hair, skin and eyes, started skiing for the first time when she was 17 on a trip to Andorra and began working with Evans, from Kent, in late 2010. Today’s win represents a huge turnaround in fortunes from just two days ago when the pair finished dead last, leaving the County Down skier in tears.

“We really worked hard to get ourselves motivated again and excited and to try and have some fun today,” she told the BBC.

“It was pretty bumpy and then coming down in the middle of it, Charlotte was telling me to get in attack and I wasn’t listening to her.

“It definitely shows how much I need to rely on Charlotte and how amazing that she’s been to guide me to gold because I wouldn’t have been able to do it without her help.”

Britain has had athletes competing in every Winter Paralympics since the first event in 1976 in Sweden and the three medals won so far surpasses the minimum target of two set by UK Sport ahead of the event.

Well done to Kelly and Charlotte, Jade and Caroline and everyone on the Great Britain Winter Paralympics team, not only are they delivering the results, but there is a real sense of pride back here in the UK. Active Nation Lincoln and our Alpine Snowsport centres in Southampton and Aldershot have been buzzing with Supporters of all ages inspired by the results.

Kelly and Charlotte, alongside Jade and Caroline, still have plenty of races to go in Sochi. They will be competing on: March 11 in the Super Combined; March 14 in the Slalom and on March 16 in the Giant Slalom.

If you have been inspired by all of the action on the slopes and want more information about Active Nation’s Alpine Centres visit: /join-us/join-us-snowsports/