Great Britain at the 2018 Winter Paralympics facts for kids

Great Britain sent a team to compete at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The team included athletes in para-snowboarding, para-alpine skiing, and wheelchair curling. These athletes came from Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Unlike sports like football, where these countries often compete separately, they join together as one team for the Olympics and Paralympics. Many people in the UK watched the games on Channel 4.

Great Britain's Team at the Paralympics

The first part of Great Britain's team was announced on January 15, 2018. The full team was then announced on February 15, 2018. One athlete, Scott Meenagh, was chosen to compete in both biathlon and cross-country skiing events.

The table below shows the athletes who were part of "Team GB" for the 2018 Games.

Great Britain sent 17 athletes to the 2018 Games. This was the largest team Great Britain had sent to the Winter Paralympics since 2006.

History of Great Britain at the Paralympics

Often, Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland compete as separate countries in sports events. However, for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, these four countries compete together as one team, representing Great Britain. Some other areas, like the Crown dependencies and British Overseas Territories, also join this team. Some people in Northern Ireland feel the name "Great Britain" does not fully include them.

Before the 2018 Winter Olympics, Great Britain had won more medals in the Winter Paralympics than in the Winter Olympics. They had won one bronze medal at the Winter Olympics, but more than five medals in the Winter Paralympics.

Para-Alpine Skiing Events

Meet the Skiers

Millie Knight became blind when she was six years old. In 2017, she finished her A Levels (important school exams). That same year, she won seven gold medals at the IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup races. Kelly Gallagher is also blind. She skis with her guide skier Charlotte Evans. They competed in the 2014 Winter Paralympics and won a gold medal in the Super-G event. Gallagher hoped to win more medals in South Korea.

Skiing Schedule and Training

Skiers had training runs for the downhill race on March 7. However, their practice runs on March 8 and 9 were cancelled.

The first para-alpine event was the downhill, which started on March 10. The Super-G event followed on March 11. The super combined race took place on March 13, with the Super-G part in the morning and the slalom part in the afternoon. The slalom event was held on March 14 and 15. Both women and men raced during the morning sessions. In the afternoons, women did their second run first, followed by the men. The last para-alpine skiing race was the giant slalom, held on March 17 and 18. Men and women raced at the same time in the morning sessions. In the afternoon, women raced first, with men starting about half an hour later.

Alpine Skiing Results

Millie Knight, a B2 classified skier, won a silver medal in the women's downhill vision impaired race. In the women's Super-G visually impaired race, Henrieta Farkasova from Slovakia won gold, Millie Knight won another silver for Great Britain, and Menna Fitzpatrick won a bronze medal.

Athlete	Classification	Event	Run 1			Run 2			Final/Total
			Time	Diff	Rank	Time	Diff	Rank	Time	Diff	Rank
Kelly Gallagher Guide: Gary Smith	Visually impaired	Giant Slalom
		Slalom
		N/A						1:39.75	+9.58	8
		Super Combined
Menna Fitzpatrick Guide: Jennifer Kehoe	Visually impaired	N/A						DNF
		Giant Slalom
		Slalom
		N/A						1:34.54	+4.37
		Super Combined
Millie Knight Guide: Brett Wild	Visually impaired	N/A						1:30.58	+0.86
		Giant Slalom
		Slalom
		N/A						1:33.76	+3.59
		Super Combined

Para-Nordic Skiing Events

Meet the Para-Nordic Skiers

Para-Nordic skiing is not a common sport for people with disabilities in Great Britain. Scott Meenagh was the first para-Nordic skier from Great Britain to go to the Winter Paralympics in 28 years! Scott was a soldier in Afghanistan. He lost both of his legs after an attack. After his injuries, he tried para-athletics and adaptive rowing. In March 2016, he started trying para-Nordic skiing.

Schedule and Results

On March 12, the 15 km race took place, with women in standing and vision impaired classes starting at 10:00 PM. The sprint classic qualification was on March 14, from 10:00 AM to 11:25 AM for both men and women in all classes. The semifinals and finals followed in the afternoon. The classic race was on March 17. The women's standing and visually impaired race was from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM.

Biathlon Results

Cross-Country Skiing Results

Para-Snowboarding Results

Wheelchair Curling Team

The wheelchair curling team started playing on March 10. They played against Sweden on March 12.

Media Coverage

You could find some information about the 2018 Games in the UK on the BBC Sport website and app, and on BBC Radio 5 live. The competition was also shown on television on Channel 4.

See also

In Spanish: Reino Unido en los Juegos Paralímpicos de Pyeongchang 2018 para niños