GB’s Simpson misses out on Paralympic title defence

Simpson misses out on Paralympic title defenceImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Neil Simpson is a two-time Paralympic medallist from Beijing 2022ByKatie FalkinghamBBC Sport Senior Journalist in CortinaPublished59 minutes agoBritain’s Neil Simpson reported “a couple of mistakes” stopped him from defending his Paralympic super G title as he finished fourth in Cortina – his second medal near-miss of the Games.Four years ago in Beijing, Simpson and his brother and guide Andrew won the nation’s only gold of the Games in the visually impaired super G, a victory that cemented him as the first British man to win gold at a Winter Paralympics.This time around, Simpson was led by Rob Poth after a late switch of guide, but after struggling on the mid-section of the Tofane piste, the British pair crossed the finish line 1.1 seconds shy of a podium finish.”There was some good skiing, so I’m pretty proud. Unfortunately there were just a couple of mistakes,” reported 23-year-old Simpson, who also finished fourth in Saturday’s downhill. “The section where there was a bit more air time and jumps, I just didn’t quite have the line there, so that just meant I didn’t have the speed over the flat.”Austria’s Johannes Aigner won gold for his second Paralympic title of the Games, having also won the downhill.Simpson’s British team-mate Fred Warburton placed 12th with his guide James Hannan after a run he described as a “bit of a battle”. Both British pairs will compete in a further three events at the Milan-Cortina Games.Those start with Tuesday’s alpine combined – an event in which skiers race both a super G and slalom course.”I gave it my best shot, unfortunately it wasn’t to be but it’s something that we need to learn from,” added Simpson, who with Poth won the 2023 super G World Championship title.Russia win their first gold medal of Paralympics