Britain's most decorated Winter Paralympian Menna Fitzpatrick: "We're trying not to put a specific goal on these Games"

This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.

Menna Fitzpatrick, 27, is Britain’s most decorated Winter Paralympian with six medals, including one gold from 2018. Following two years of injury disruptions, she’s heading to Italy with her trusted guide, Katie Guest, 30, who is making her Winter Paralympics debut.

What are your earliest memories of skiing?

Menna: I first put on baby skis at the age of five. I actually started racing with my dad as my guide. I was so young I needed a parent to come along. He killed two birds with one stone: being the guardian and the guide. Then the team said he wasn’t fast enough, which I think stung a little bit!

How does it feel coming down the slope as a visually impaired skier?

Menna: It’s very much like freedom. There are a lot of things we’re told we can’t do: we can’t drive, we can’t go on a bike… Skiing is one of the only sports where a guide and a VI [visually impaired] skier aren’t attached in any way. It’s a sense of freedom, being able to choose your line – to an extent! You get to choose whether you listen to the comms. And the speed, the adrenaline, the nerves… all at once is a pretty cool feeling.

How important is the bond with your guide?

Menna: As a visually impaired skier you’re trusting that they’re not going to take you off a cliff – you’re trusting them with your life! It’s a pretty special relationship that is far more than friends, colleagues or anything like that.

Katie: Coming from able-bodied racing into this, it’s added a new dynamic. It’s no longer finding the fastest way down the hill for yourself, it’s thinking for two people.

How do you communicate when you’re competing on the ski slopes?

Katie: I wear bright pink, which is a visual cue, but the rest is done over a two-way Bluetooth headset. I can communicate terrain, changes in light, snow and direction. For me it’s just figuring out which of those verbal cues Menna will understand fully in the time to be able to trust and commit to it.

You started working as a pair back in 2021. What were those first interactions like?

Katie: There were definitely some challenges, like trust, which is completely understandable in any new relationship. It was just trying to understand how to gain Menna’s trust. But it was a very successful partnership straight off.

Menna: We’ve worked really hard to make it a successful relationship. We’ve got to accept that we are different people with different personalities, but that doesn’t mean you can’t work together.

What was your secret to building trust?

Menna: The secret is listening and getting to know each other. It’s the everyday stuff for me, especially as a visually impaired person – Katie pointing out steps, puddles and all that sort of stuff in day-to-day life. It’s going to sound cheesy, but every bit helps.

Katie: It was understanding Menna. She is a really family-orientated person. To gain her confidence meant going to have dinner with the Fitzpatrick family, seeing her house and understanding what Menna does when she goes home, as I live up in Edinburgh and she’s in Macclesfield.

How excited are you for your first Winter Paralympics relatively close to home?

Menna: It’s a bit easier for friends and family to watch and they’re actually able to come out there. It’s as close as we’re going to get to a home Games. It’s a very special one.

You suffered an injury recently, will you be at 100 per cent in Milano Cortina?

Menna: Unfortunately, with the injury in December, the lead-up hasn’t been ideal, but I’m feeling pretty confident in the knee itself and how much it can cope with. I’ll be wearing a brace as well, so that will add an extra little bit of safety. We’ve done everything that we could possibly do to feel confident on that start line.

Team GB snared a few gold medals at the Winter Olympics — should we expect more from you and ParalympicsGB?

Menna: We’re trying not to put a specific goal on these Games. We’re going to enjoy it, take everything in. It will be our first one together, so I’m really excited for Katie to be a part of it. And getting out of the start gate is a gold medal to me after the last couple of years of injuries.

Katie: It’s up to Menna, what she decides to do on the day. If she’s ready to push it and really go for it, then I’ll be there to support that.

Menna, you are the most decorated British Winter Paralympian. Has that sunk in?

Menna: Probably not, to be honest. It’s my hobby, it’s my sport and I just love doing it. I don’t really focus too much on titles and it feels a bit odd, but it’s a pretty epic title!

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