TYTHERINGTON teenager Menna Fitzpatrick become Britain’s most successful-ever Winter Paralympian after winning gold on the final day of the Winter Games.
And the plucky 19-year-old skier, who clinched the medal alongside her guide Jennifer Kehoe in the slalom, revealed how the pair danced their way to victory.
The former Fallibroome Academy and Prestbury pupil left the Pyeongvhang games with four medals – with two silvers and a bronze alongside her gold.
It was an amazing first Winter Paralympics for Menna, who has no vision in her left eye and limited sight in her right.
And her last day triumph in South Korea, beating the competition favourite, was in stark contrast with the opening day of the Games when Menna and Jennifer crashed out on the first bend of their first race.
Menna revealed her golden day didn’t start well. She said: “I was exhausted after this whole period of racing.
“The nerves and the emotion were just overwhelming so that didn’t make for a great start.”
But as the teenager began to feel overwhelmed by the moment, singing a song and dancing eased the pressure and proved to be the perfect tonic.
She said: “Having fun changed everything a lot, we just went out there and did our own thing and looked at the achievements.
“We just sang songs and danced and it made me feel a lot better and it seemed to work. We may have been dancing in the start gate!
“We just needed something to make us giggle, and that calmed me down.”
Jennifer added: “Words don’t even cover what we’re feeling right now, it hasn’t properly sunk in. We left everything out there on that hill. We fought right to the very end.”
The pair’s gold in the visually impaired slalom made it a great final day for Team GB, who hit their seven medal target for the games.
And there was more glory for Menna when she was chosen to carry the flag during the Games’ closing ceremony.
Menna, who is also a former Macclesfield College student, learned the sport aged five by skiing behind her father on family holidays.
In October 2010, she was spotted by a coach at the Chill Factore and started regular training with the British Para Snowsport team.