Get Kids Going! supported athlete James Whitley for a top-ten finish in the giant slalom at the Winter Paralympics in Beijing. James said he was “really, really happy” with the result. In the highly competitive men’s standing class James came sixth with a combined time of 1:58.38 after two runs.
James began skiing at the age of 4 years and began his ski racing career in 2008 when he came second in the giant slalom at the Italian National Championships. James is one of GB’s top para alpine skiers, having competed in the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia and again in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea. James was born with no hands but still this has not stopped him from become one of GB’s best men’s Paralympic skiers.
James said “It was a really nice run, the further I got down the more I was charging after it. I left everything on the hill, for Giant Slalom that’s the best result I’ve ever had and I’m really, really happy with that.”
“I’ve come back with a bit of a clear head; a fresh body and mind and I just enjoyed charging out the gate like I used to, it was a nice feeling,” he said.
“It’s always nice to know that you belong on the leader board and in the top half, so I’m going to take the confidence I got today and put it in to the slalom (on Sunday), which is my bread and butter”.
We wish James the best of luck for his slalom race on Sunday 13th March.
In the visually impaired event, Get Kids Going! supported athlete Neil Simpson finished in fifth place after his two runs. Neil, who is guided through the event by brother Andrew, was looking to add his Super-G gold and Super Combined bronze earlier in the week.
Watch out for more of our coverage of the Winter Paralympics and visit our homepage to find out more about the Get Kids Going! team at the Winter Paralympics 2022.