Shona Brownlee: ParalympicGB skier from Livingston flying high at age of 42

Livingston's Shona Brownlee, 42, has been enjoying every second and performing well on her Winter Paralympics debut in Beijing

The Livingston flyer has enjoyed a searing rise on the international circuit and is revelling in her maiden Games experience in Beijing.

She clinched an impressive sixth-place finish on debut in Sunday’s Super-G before following it up with an admirable ninth in Friday’s technically-challenging giant slalom.

At 42, Brownlee represents the oldest member of ParalympicsGB’s 10-strong alpine skiing squad alongside the decorated likes of Menna Fitzpatrick and Millie Knight, who have racked up ten Paralympic medals between them at the age of 23.

But Brownlee, who only first competed in an international race in 2019 and grabbed a pair of World Championship medals to gear up for the Games, said: “It’s just like a family.

“It’s been great having Menna and Millie on the team – I think age is just irrelevant. They’re an awful lot more experienced than I am – both of them have been skiing since quite a young age competing on the circuit for a few years, so they’re really good at helping out and letting me know what to expect.

“Everybody gets on each other’s nerves now and again but overall, it’s a really good team and we work well together. They were cheering me at the finish line, we were supporting the boys [Neil and Andrew Simpson] yesterday – everybody really wants everybody else to do well.

“I’m just trying to learn from everything and get as much as I can from the experience – I’m trying to put that into practice and build on it. Hopefully that will take me further.

“I didn’t even expect to be here this year so I’ve already exceeded my expectations – I just need to keep building on that and get better each run.”

Brownlee had her leg amputated after a military accident in 2018 before first taking to a ‘sit-ski’ as part of the Ministry of Defence’s Battle Back programme the next year.

And three gold medals at British Championships followed by a third-place in the prestigious Europa Cup then propelled her further into the international spotlight.

The Scot continued to develop throughout 2020 and after clinching Super-G silver and giant slalom bronze at January’s World Championships in Lillehammer, her place on the Paralympic plane was all-but secure.

Brownlee’s family all hail from West Lothian, where she will return after she competes in Saturday’s final slalom event.

And she added: “They’ve been up during the night watching – they’re probably still in disbelief and excited that I’m here, just like I am.

“I know they’re all there supporting me – I just want to keep building on the experience, take what I can, learn and see where it leads in the future.”

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