{"id":27211,"date":"2018-03-09T16:03:44","date_gmt":"2018-03-09T16:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?p=27211"},"modified":"2018-03-09T16:03:44","modified_gmt":"2018-03-09T16:03:44","slug":"aiming-gold-wales-first-para-skiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/03\/09\/aiming-gold-wales-first-para-skiers\/","title":{"rendered":"Aiming for gold, Wales\u2019 first Paralympian skiers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><figure id=\"attachment_27212\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27212\" style=\"width: 1376px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-27212\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-12.30.36-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1376\" height=\"528\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-12.30.36-PM.png 1376w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-12.30.36-PM-300x115.png 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-12.30.36-PM-1024x393.png 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-12.30.36-PM-770x295.png 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-12.30.36-PM-500x192.png 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-12.30.36-PM-293x112.png 293w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1376px) 100vw, 1376px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27212\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-27212\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-12.30.36-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1376\" height=\"528\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-12.30.36-PM.png 1376w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-12.30.36-PM-300x115.png 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-12.30.36-PM-1024x393.png 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-12.30.36-PM-770x295.png 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-12.30.36-PM-500x192.png 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-12.30.36-PM-293x112.png 293w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1376px) 100vw, 1376px\" \/><\/noscript> Menna Fitzpatrick (l) and Jen Kehoe (r) will compete tomorrow in Pyeongchang (cr. www.meenaandjen.co.uk)CHRIS<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0Lloyd crashed a rally car at high speed in September 2011. He broke his back, damaged his neck and crushed his spinal cord.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> At first he was paralysed from the neck down and although he regained l<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">imited mobility, he was told he would no longer be able to enjoy his passions of skiing and rally driving again.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Menna Fitzpatrick was born with congenital retinal folds. She has no vision in her left eye and limited sight in her right eye, leaving her with just five percent of her vision.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">She met Sir Steve Redgrave when she was 13 years old and held one of his gold medals and ever since she wanted her own.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It has been a long road to the Pyeongchang games in South Korea, but Chris and Menna will be the first Welsh skiers ever to compete in a winter Paralympics when they take to the slopes in the early hours of Saturday morning.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Defying the odds<\/h3>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_27225\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27225\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-27225 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Chris-Lloyd-2-300x271.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"271\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Chris-Lloyd-2-300x271.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Chris-Lloyd-2-770x695.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Chris-Lloyd-2-500x451.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Chris-Lloyd-2-293x264.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Chris-Lloyd-2.jpg 859w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27225\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27225 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Chris-Lloyd-2-300x271.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"271\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Chris-Lloyd-2-300x271.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Chris-Lloyd-2-770x695.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Chris-Lloyd-2-500x451.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Chris-Lloyd-2-293x264.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Chris-Lloyd-2.jpg 859w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript> Chris Lloyd is aiming for success at the Paralympic Games (cr. Paralympics GB)<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cardiff-based Chris, 43, attended a ski session in October 2012 with the Disability Snowsport charity and after a detailed review of his skiing he was told it would take four to five years to develop the skills needed to become a ski racer. \u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But it took him just one year, and in August 2013 he was invited to become a member of the development squad with the British Disabled Ski Team. <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In an interview with Paralympics GB, he said \u201cMy ultimate goal was just to get to the Paralympic Games, that\u2019s happened now and that\u2019s the big thing for me, anything else from there is just a bonus.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIt\u2019s always a proud moment to be representing your country, I\u2019m chilled and relaxed so I\u2019m just going to go out there and enjoy it and see what I can do while I\u2019m out there.\u201d<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chris will be racing in the Men\u2019s Downhill tomorrow morning at 2.07am GMT where he will be hoping to beat his personal best.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIt\u2019s going to be amazing, this is a big moment, a proud moment, for me and family and I just can\u2019t wait to get out there and get started really,\u201d he told Paralympics GB.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThe conditions look like they suit me, everything looks positive so it\u2019s about going out there and achieving my dream of being at the winter Paralympics. Anything else is a bonus.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cMy aim is just to go out there and do my best, I\u2019m not really looking to do too much more than that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>\u00a05% vision, 100kmph<\/h4>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_27214\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27214\" style=\"width: 601px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-27214\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-1.00.48-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"601\" height=\"601\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-1.00.48-PM.png 601w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-1.00.48-PM-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-1.00.48-PM-100x100.png 100w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-1.00.48-PM-293x293.png 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-1.00.48-PM-500x500.png 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-1.00.48-PM-390x390.png 390w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-1.00.48-PM-585x585.png 585w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 601px) 100vw, 601px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27214\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-27214\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-1.00.48-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"601\" height=\"601\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-1.00.48-PM.png 601w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-1.00.48-PM-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-1.00.48-PM-100x100.png 100w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-1.00.48-PM-293x293.png 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-1.00.48-PM-500x500.png 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-1.00.48-PM-390x390.png 390w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-09-at-1.00.48-PM-585x585.png 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 601px) 100vw, 601px\" \/><\/noscript> Menna Fitzpatrick and jen Kehoe celebrate with their World Cup gold medals in 2016 (cr. www.mennaandjen.co.uk)<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Menna, 19, also Cardiff-based, learned to ski when she was five by skiing behind her dad down the slopes on family holidays.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In October 2010, she was spotted by a coach at the Chill Factore ski centre in Manchester and started regular training with the British Para Snowsport team. <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Menna made her senior international debut for Great Britain in 2012 and in March 2016, she and guide Jen Kehoe made history by becoming the first British skiers to win the overall World Cup visually impaired title in Aspen.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Menna and Jen will be racing tomorrow morning at 12.30am (GMT) in the visually Impaired Women\u2019s Downhill where she will reach speeds of 100kmph.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In an interview with Paralympics GB, Menna said \u201cWe\u2019ve been training a lot this past year, we\u2019ve put everything into this so it\u2019s nice to have that feeling of relief, knowing that all of our hard work has paid off,<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely amazing to be selected and going to Pyeongchang, I\u2019ve been dreaming of going to the Paralympics ever since I started skiing, so I\u2019m both delighted and a little bit relieved this has come around.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cTo represent your country is amazing, I\u2019m so proud to be from Great Britain and we are not traditionally known as a big skiing country \u2013 we don\u2019t have the mountains.\u201d<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tune in on Channel 4 to watch the coverage of the Paralympics from 12.30am and see Chris, Menna, and Jen take to the slopes for Team GB.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0Lloyd crashed a rally car at high speed in September 2011. He broke his back, damaged his neck and crushed his spinal cord. At first he was paralysed from the neck down and although he regained limited mobility, he was told he would no longer be able to enjoy his passions of skiing and rally driving again. Menna Fitzpatrick was born with congenital retinal folds. She has no vision in her left eye and limited sight in her right eye, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":27217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,439],"tags":[378,2755,5886,5737,4102],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-27211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport","category-diary","tag-olympics","tag-paralympics","tag-skiing","tag-snow","tag-winter"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Aiming for gold, Wales\u2019 first Paralympian skiers - The Cardiffian<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/03\/09\/aiming-gold-wales-first-para-skiers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Aiming for gold, Wales\u2019 first Paralympian skiers - The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0Lloyd crashed a rally car at high speed in September 2011. He broke his back, damaged his neck and crushed his spinal cord. At first he was paralysed from the neck down and although he regained limited mobility, he was told he would no longer be able to enjoy his passions of skiing and rally driving again. Menna Fitzpatrick was born with congenital retinal folds. 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