Winter Paralympic Games: A Different Measure of Success
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Following on from a record-breaking Beijing WinterParalympic Games in 2022 for Team GB, Milan Cortina was slightly lesssuccessful when it came to the medal count. That said, there were a number offirsts and highlights along the way that marked a slightly different measure ofsuccess for the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games.
With 68% of the British squad made up of debutants,this Games was all about building and looking ahead to the future, with acouple of history makers along the way.
From the Fred and Jimbo fan clubtaking over the Italian mountains in their signature yellow hats, to the puregrit shown by Jo Butterfield in her transition from Summer to Winter stardom, the Winter Games havecontinued to be a talking point.
1. From the rubble to the slopes
Sometimes sport is about so much more than the result– it’s about what it can represent on a wider stage – and that couldn’t be truerthan for Ralf Etienne.
Trapped in the rubble following the devastatingearthquake in Haiti in 2010, Etienne, the 20 years old, decided that if he wasto survive this tragedy, he would live a life to serve people. After having tohave his leg amputated, his life’s mission changed. From a successfulentrepreneur by the age of 16 with what he called “a media empire” to aninvestment banker focusing on ‘impact investment’ who also supported a numberof humanitarian initiatives in his home country, Etienne had a drive to showthe world the positive and resilient side to Haiti.
It was skiing however that made him realise how hecould make a mark on the world, by becoming his nation’s first WinterParalympic athlete, the second from a Caribbean nation.
“At first skiing meant freedom to me, and then Irealised it was inspiration. That is what the Paralympics are about.
“It is a message of hope to disabled people and therest of the world.”
We couldn’t have put it better ourselves! But itwasn’t just Ralf Etienne that made history at the Milan Cortina Games…
2. Triumph over MND
Diagnosed in 2018 and originallygiven a two-year life expectancy, the 38-year-old Davy Zyw defied medical oddsto finish 18th in the men’s SB-UL snowboard cross seeding at the Milano Cortina2026 Games. While celebrating his personal achievement and the opportunity tocompete in front of his wife and son, Zyw emphasised his primary goal of usinghis platform to advocate for an MND cure.
Davy described his path to the Gamesas a “tragic beauty”, acknowledging the physical decline of his body alongsidethe fulfillment of a lifelong dream - “The reality is, I’m delighted tomake history here, but I really want to banish this disease to history. Usingthis platform, I want to help find a cure for this currently incurablecondition.”
3. Team GB’s only medal of the Games
Neil Simpson and hisguide Rob Poth joined forces to win Team GB’s first and only medal of theMilan-Cortina Winter Paralympic Games, taking home silver in the alpinecombined. Despite two fourth-place finishes earlier in the Games, this wasSimpson’s third Paralympic medal overall, and showcased that with grit anddetermination, you really can leave behind the disappointment that often comeswith just narrowly missing out on the podium.
4. Breaking new ground
Most people leave a sporting event with a souvenirt-shirt or keyring, but not Nina Sparks (although she may have gotten a t-shirtas well!). She left the stands in Beijing in 2022 with a plan – to move fromwatching from the sidelines to competing in the Milan Cortina Games, and in herown words, she “just did it”.
Not only did she realise her dreams, Sparks becameTeam GB’s first ever female winter Paralympian to compete in snowboarding,finishing the competition in 10th overall.
Now we just have to wait another four years…