Menna Fitzpatrick: How Britain’s Most Decorated Winter Paralympian Overcame Injury to Reach Milano Cortina 2026

When Menna Fitzpatrick was chosen by her teammates to carry the flag for ParalympicsGB at the Milano Cortina 2026 Opening Ceremony, it capped one of the most remarkable comeback stories in British sport. Just three months earlier, a serious knee injury in training had threatened to end her dream of a third Paralympic Games.

Now 26 years old and with six Paralympic medals to her name, Fitzpatrick remains Great Britain’s most successful winter Paralympian ever. Here is her story.

Growing Up with Five Per Cent Vision

Born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, Fitzpatrick was diagnosed with congenital retinal folds as a baby, leaving her with roughly five per cent vision. She cannot see detail beyond a few metres and has no depth perception. Despite this, she fell in love with skiing during a family holiday and quickly showed she had the talent and nerve to compete at the highest level.

Visually impaired alpine skiing works through a guide system. The guide skis just ahead of the athlete and communicates information about the terrain, turns, and gates through a Bluetooth headset. It demands extraordinary trust between two people hurtling down a mountain at speeds that can exceed 100 kilometres per hour.

PyeongChang 2018: The Breakthrough

Fitzpatrick first competed at the Sochi 2014 Paralympics as a teenager, but it was at PyeongChang 2018 that she truly announced herself on the world stage. Alongside her then-guide Jennifer Kehoe, she won four medals — gold in the slalom, two silvers in the super combined and super-G, and a bronze in the giant slalom.

That slalom gold was only the second Winter Paralympic gold medal ever won by a British athlete, and it cemented Fitzpatrick’s status as one of the country’s finest winter sports stars.

A New Partnership with Katie Guest

After Kehoe retired, Fitzpatrick teamed up with new guide Katie Guest. Building a guide partnership from scratch is no small task — it requires months of training together to develop the communication, timing, and mutual understanding needed to race at elite level.

The results came quickly. In their first season together, Fitzpatrick and Guest won World Championship slalom gold at Lillehammer in 2021. They have since added three more world medals, proving the partnership works at the very top of the sport.

The Injury Scare

In early December 2025, during training for a World Cup event in Steinbach, Fitzpatrick suffered a major knee injury that put her Milano Cortina dream in serious doubt. With less than three months until the Paralympics, the recovery timeline was extremely tight.

Through intensive rehabilitation and sheer determination, she fought her way back to fitness. Her selection for the ParalympicsGB squad was confirmed, and the decision by her fellow athletes to vote her as flagbearer was a touching recognition of her courage and standing within the team.

What to Expect at Milano Cortina 2026

Fitzpatrick is expected to compete across multiple alpine skiing disciplines in the visually impaired category, including the slalom where she won gold in 2018. The courses in Cortina d’Ampezzo are technically demanding, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Dolomites.

She has spoken publicly about feeling “free of pressure” heading into her third Games, saying she simply wants to enjoy the experience and ski to the best of her ability. For fans, that relaxed mindset could prove the perfect recipe for another medal-winning performance.

A Legacy Beyond Medals

Fitzpatrick’s impact extends well beyond her results on the slopes. As a high-profile visually impaired athlete, she has become an important advocate for disability sport in the UK. Her appearances in the media, school visits, and work with sight-loss charities have inspired countless young people to believe that disability is no barrier to achieving extraordinary things.

Whatever happens in the mountains above Cortina, Menna Fitzpatrick has already secured her place as one of British sport’s most inspirational figures. Catch her in action on Channel 4 throughout the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics.