Canterbury skier Millie Knight, 15, finishes Sochi Winter Paralympics with fifth-placed finish in giant slalom debut
Published: 00:00, 17 March 2014
Updated: 09:07, 17 March 2014
Teenage Kent skier Millie Knight’s first Winter Paralympic experience ended on a high after she completed a superb pair of fifth-placed finishes.
The 15-year-old King’s School pupil, from Canterbury, - the youngest GB Winter Paralympian in history - claimed fifth in the visually-impaired slalom on Wednesday in Rosa Khutor along with guide Rachael Ferrier, just days after carrying the Union Flag at the Opening Ceremony in Sochi.
On Sunday morning they returned to the slopes to tackle the giant slalom - an event Knight, who only turned 15 in January - had never raced in competitively before that day.
The pair safely navigated two runs down the testing course and finished in a combined time of 3mins 7.34secs.
The two completed runs put her ahead of GB teammates and medal winners Jade Etherington and Kelly Gallagher, whose guide is Chatham’s Charlotte Evans.
Knight said: “It was really good fun, we were both really excited about it but both runs went really well.
“We were just happy to get down and negotiate the course and so getting top five is a great achievement for us.”
GB eventually finished 10th in the Sochi medal table with one gold - from Evans and Gallagher - three silvers and two bronzes, which exceeded the UK Sport target of ‘at least two medals.’
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