Page 27 - RADC Bulletin 2018

Owen was four months into a deployment to Afghanistan when he stood on an Improvised Explosive Device. He received a catastrophic injury to his leg and spent the next 18 months having surgery in an attempt to repair it, but nothing worked and in the end, he had to have the leg amputated above the knee. During his recovery from surgery to remove his leg, Owen watched a programme on snowboarding and though he had never boarded before, he got in touch with BLESMA, who provided his
initial instruction. From there, he joined the AFPST and began racing. His commitment and hard work paid off with selection for Team GB and he would compete in both snowboarding events (boarder-cross and banked slalom) during the Games.
I was bursting with pride as Team
GB followed him round the stadium in anticipation of what was to follow over
the next 9 days of competition. With
AFPST representation in nordic, alpine
and snowboarding; I couldn’t wait for the emotions that were inevitably going to follow, in particular through the alpine events; which were ‘my bag’.
I spent the first day watching the hugely impressive Scott Meenagh racing biathlon on his sit-ski. The ex-Para Regt Soldier had both legs blown off in Afghanistan and most of you will have seen his media bites on facebook and TV. All I can add to that is that he is truly one of the most inspirational individuals I have ever met. His dedication and commitment to sport, coupled with his refusal to accept defeat following his injury makes him a role model for any athlete and a true Olympian. Scott’s performances in biathlon and cross-country were incredible and as a ‘dabbler’ in cross-country skiing,
I am staggered by his ability to double pole round these Olympic courses!
I spent the next few days watching the alpine ski racing. Military representation
in the alpine events was in the form of the guides of the 3 British visually impaired athletes; Menna Fitzpatrick, Millie Knight and Kelly Gallacher. Jen Kehoe, Menna’s guide is a serving Officer in the Royal Engineers and was the former alpine manager of
the AFPST. Brett Wilde, a Royal Navy submariner guides Millie and Gary Smith, RAF, guides Kelly. The Team GB goal of
7 medals at these Games rested heavily with these athletes and their results over
the World Cup in the lead up had been promising.
The spectacle and atmosphere at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre was electric and though I’d been to a number of big alpine races, this was on a completely different level. To witness these athletes tackle
the incredibly testing terrain and snow conditions; hitting similar speeds to that
of those competing in the Olympic Games was spectacular. To see their emotions
up close at the finish was humbling; for some, the achievement and stage was simply overwhelming. The Team GB pairings didn’t fail to disappoint and in front of the enthusiastic British support crowd, they delivered! Silver and 2 bronze medals for Brett and Millie and two silvers and a bronze for Jen and Menna was topped on the final day’s slalom – GOLD for the girls!!!
An important effect for the AFPST during the Games was to expose the Paralympic Inspiration Programme athletes to the different disciplines in a bid to whet their appetite for the Beijing Games in 4 years’ time and to demonstrate the commitment, courage and determination they will require to achieve selection for Team GB. The endeavour is supported by Help For Heroes and as alpine manager, I am delighted to
have 2 athletes on this programme; Dan Sheen and Alex Slegg and one coach; Mike Roberts, a serving RLC SNCO. Dan was injured in Afghanistan, suffering a full leg amputation and severe damage to the other. Alex has spinal injuries and both ride a sit-ski. The effect of bringing these guys to the Paralympic Games has been immense. The opportunity for them to mix with current sit-ski Paralympians has entirely achieved
its desired effect, both for them as athletes and for me as alpine performance manager. The prospect of delivering the training, racing and support to provide them with the best possible chance of being selected for the 2022 Paralympic Games in Beijing is a daunting prospect, but one which I can’t wait to get started on.
It is difficult to sum up what was such a special experience.
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