Menna Fitzpatrick roared like a lion and had the bite to back it up after storming to her second silver medal of the Winter Paralympic Games.
The downhill crash on day one in PyeongChang now looks a lifetime away for the Macclesfield alpine skier, with she and guide Jennifer Kehoe on the podium for a third time this week.
In the giant slalom silver was once again the order of the day – four of ParalympicsGB’s five this Games have been that colour – as this Paralympic debutant continued her coming-of-age process.
One more medal could come in Sunday’s slalom finale but, for now at least, Fitzpatrick remains keen just to think about her starting gate antics.
“Anyone who was there could hear how much we enjoyed that, there was a big shout at the end of it,” she said after their second run confirmed their third medal in South Korea.
“It felt absolutely amazing, you can really feel the acceleration from your skis and your bodies driving you forward, Jen was just going for it and the feeling was so good.
“I was injured just before last year’s World Championships with a broken hand so we have never really had a chance to put together this sort of run at a major competition before.
“You get a lot of time to think in that start game, yesterday I was thinking about butterflies but Jen and I like to sing Lady Gaga’s Edge of Glory in the start gate – I’m not apologising for any bad singing.
“I also roar like a lion just before I go out, it terrifies the people in the starting gate but I love it, it gets me all revved up.”
The Welsh visually impaired skier has certainly purred with recent performances since their day one disaster, reaching the podium in each of the subsequent events.
But for a pair that, not long ago, were eyeing up just a completion, there’s a feeling that there is still more in the tank.
This performance was comfortably their best of the week, stopping the clock in 1.13.89 in their second giant slalom run, finishing once again behind Henrieta Farkasova.
Given Australian Melissa Perrine had produced a storming run to threaten second, this was a performance the British duo had to pull out of the bag, claiming silver by just 0.47 seconds.
But then character and resilience have become something of a speciality for Fitzpatrick and Kehoe.
“The next few days are recovery, that’s the name of this game, we’ll go for a swim, ice baths and physio and hopefully be relaxing as much as possible,” added the teenager.
“It’s taken a lot of time to recover from the downhill, to get back into the swing and things, but we’ve been able to really enjoy this.
“The feeling in your stomach is almost like a roller coaster, you leave your body behind at the start gate. That feeling is absolutely amazing.
“Henrieta is leading the sport well and showing off what women and visually impaired skiers can do. I love it because it gives us someone to push and to aim for.”
Sainsbury’s is a proud long-term supporter of the British Paralympic Association and a champion of inclusive sport for all. For more information on Sainsbury’s commitment to inclusive sport visit http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/
