Neil and Andrew Simpson added a brilliant bronze to their Winter Paralympics gold and vowed they’re not finished yet.
The Banchory brothers are emerging as two of the faces of the British team in Beijing and followed up their history-making Super-G triumph with Super Combined bronze just 24 hours later.
Their victory on Sunday made them the first British men to strike Olympic or Paralympic gold on snow, but they weren’t finished there as another searing pair of runs – one in the Super-G, one in the slalom – fired them back on to the podium in the hybrid Super Combined event.
The dynamic duo now turn their attention to the more technically-challenging giant slalom and slalom events on Thursday and Saturday and insist they’re hellbent on hitting a hat-trick to keep British momentum building.
Asked if he’d have believed the fact he’d have won gold and bronze before the Games, Neil, 19, said: “Probably not. It’s been a very good start and I’m over the moon with the last couple of days – but we’ve still got two more races to come.
“I’ve skied the slalom hill now and I’m feeling pretty confident for that event now as well.
“I’m really keen to get the giant slalom skis on before that comes around and get ready for that.
📺 | While you were having breakfast, Neil and Andrew Simpson were adding Beijing bronze to the family collection in the Para Alpine super combined! 🥇🥉#WinterParalympics
🎥 @C4Paralympics pic.twitter.com/IQLIorasnh— ParalympicsGB (@ParalympicsGB) March 7, 2022
“It was a very tough run today – I’m pretty happy with the first run, despite a big mistake.
“I’m glad I managed to keep it going – we were in the mix and there were quite a few of us, so it was very tough.”
The Super Combined event was due to take place on Tuesday before being brought forward 24 hours due to scheduled boiling Beijing conditions.
That meant it was three events in as many days for Britain’s alpine skiers as a gruelling timetable unfolded at Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre.
The Simpsons sat temporarily in the lead after their second run before being usurped by Italian Giacomo Bertagnolli – who they beat on Sunday – and 16-year-old Austrian sensation Johannes Aiger.
The Scots have barely had a chance to process their stunning Super-G triumph and hope a couple of days away from the snow can get them back firing on all cylinders.
“We were so busy yesterday we didn’t really get a chance to celebrate much,” added Andrew, who along with his brother is able to train full-time thanks to National Lottery funding.
“We’re both just so over the moon from yesterday – it meant we were probably a little bit too tired today.
“One mistake in the first Super-G run cost us, but we knew we just had to pull it out of the bag in the slalom.”
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