ParalympicsGB has just confirmed one of the biggest ever British teams to compete at a Paralympic Winter Games with the announcement of the ski and snowboard athletes for Beijing 2022.
The 2022 Paralympic Winter Games take place from 04-13 March and are expected to be the biggest ever, featuring an estimated 600 athletes from more than 50 countries.
Team GB will have 20 individuals taking part in Alpine Skiing, Nordic Skiing (Biathlon and Cross-Country) and Snowboard, plus five Wheelchair Curlers.
It will be the largest Paralympic team at a Winter Games since Lillehammer in 1994.
ALPINE
The Alpine skiing team is very strong, led by defending Paralympic Slalom Champion and PyeongChang 2018 multiple medallist, Menna Fitzpatrick, competing with new guide Katie Guest.
PyeongChang 2018 triple medallist, Millie Knight, will also be one to watch, partnered again by Brett Wild.
Knight competes in the Visually Impaired Classification together with Paralympic debutant Neil Simpson, who is guided by his brother, Andrew.
All three athletes (Fitzpatrick, Knight and Simpson) enjoyed podiums at the 2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships in Lillehammer earlier this season.
Another debutant will be Shona Brownlee, who is making her Games debut after only four years in the sport. She is joined in the Sitting Class by Alex Slegg and Dan Sheen, who both went to PyeongChang on the Paralympic Inspiration Programme, which was created to give aspiring athletes a taste of the Games.
In the Standing Class, James Whitley will be looking to build on the experience he gained in multiple events at Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018.
NORDIC
Five athletes will take part in Nordic skiing, four more than at Pyeongchang 2018, when Scott Meenagh became the first British athlete to compete in Nordic Paralympic events for 20 years.
Fellow military veteran Steve Arnold will take part in the Biathlon and Cross-Country events. They will be joined by debutant Callum Deboys, who was inspired to take up the sport after meeting Meenagh.
Also taking part in Cross-Country will be the multi-talented Steve Thomas, who will be taking part in his sixth Paralympics, having represented Team GB in sailing from 2004-2016 as well as being part of the Para Ice Hockey team at Turin 2006.
Hope Gordon completes the team. She is on the British Canoe high performance programme, and will become ParalympicsGB’s first ever female Nordic athlete.
SNOWBOARD
The Snowboard team features two athletes who featured at PyeongChang 2018, James Barnes-Miller, fresh from medal success at the World Para Snow Sports Championships in Lillehammer, and Owen Pick who took silver at the Klovsjo 2022 World Cup.
They will be joined by Games debutants Ollie Hill, who won World Championships bronze in the Team event alongside James Barnes-Miller, and Andy MacLeod.
FULL PARALYMPICS GB SQUAD FOR BEIJING 2022
Alpine
Shona Brownlee
Menna Fitzpatrick (Guide: Katie Guest)
Millie Knight (Guide: Brett Wild)
Dan Sheen
Neil Simpson (Guide: Andrew Simpson)
Alex Slegg
James Whitley
Supporting Guide: Gary Smith
Nordic
Steve Arnold
Callum Deboys
Hope Gordon
Scott Meenagh
Steve Thomas
Snowboard
James Barnes-Miller
Ollie Hill
Andy MacLeod
Owen Pick