Hester Poole learns tough lesson in Winter Paralympics debut – but British teenager has hope for the future
· Yahoo Sports
To expect forgiveness from the Winter Paralympic slopes is to be sorely mistaken.
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The pistes of the Dolomites do not discriminate between Games debutants and veterans who are into their third Games or more.
It was a fact Para alpine skier Hester Poole was all too aware of as she fell at the top of her run on her first appearance at a Paralympic Games in the women’s giant slalom VI.
The 18-year-old, who is guided by Ali Hall, found her big moment cut cruelly short but is not letting the setback define her own narrative on the slopes of the Dolomites.
“It wasn’t ideal, no one can really argue with that. I would have liked to put down a good run for my Paralympic debut,” she said.
“But some people come here and have glory stories, get gold straight away and then have to defend that, some people have redemption arcs - so that’s the angle I’m going for now.”
Poole, from Bath, has had something of a whirlwind start to 2026, from receiving an offer to study English Literature at the University of Cambridge in January, to receiving news of her Paralympic selection just a month ago.
Her academic pursuits mean she knows all about fairytale endings as she looks to chart her own Bildungsroman – or coming-of-age – in the Italian mountains.
And just as a good novel does not hinge on its ending, Poole will enjoy the journey as she builds experience on her first Paralympic tilt with the slalom event still to come.
“Generally, it’s not the joy of the finish, it’s the joy of the race so I’m most frustrated with the fact that I didn’t get the opportunity to go through more of the course,” reflected Poole, who uses a guide dog after being born with rare eye disease Leber congenital amaurosis.
“It was a really good surface, a really good piste, so I definitely have regrets about today. But I was fighting out the start gate so that’s what I can take from it.
“I’ve still got the slalom to come on Saturday; I’m looking forward to it a lot. I’m going to just try and put this out the way and hopefully put down some good times.”
Menna Fitzpatrick, 27, finished sixth in the event alongside guide Katie Guest, improving on her first run performance to move up one place in a combined time of 2:36.51.
Menna Fitzpatrick (right) and guide Katie Guest came home sixth (Getty Images)The Macclesfield native, who is ParalympicsGB’s most decorated Winter Paralympian, missed out on the past two seasons of action through injury and now competes in a knee brace after suffering an ACL injury in December 2025.
It means Fitzpatrick is competing in a field that has continued to improve in her absence, though she continues to build confidence following her third event in Italy.
“We’re seeing the girls really push on with their technique, I’ve just got to keep up with them,” she said.
“I have definitely grown in confidence in the last few races. It is feeling a bit more like me and my own skiing. I am really looking forward to slalom coming up.”
Fitzpatrick had taken silver in the giant slalom at PyeongChang 2018 in a combined time of 2:28.24, meaning she now sits eight seconds down on that pace.
Menna Fitzpatrick was relatively pleased with her performance in the giant slalom (Getty Images)But the field has continued to improve, too, with Austrian Veronika Aigner’s winning time at Milano Cortina five seconds quicker than the gold medallist eight years ago.
And once the games are over Fitzpatrick will have to work out how to best bridge that gap with decisions about surgery yet to be made.
“That is a conversation I have not had with my medical team just yet. It is a conversation to be had after the Games,” she confirmed.
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