Banchory’s Neil Simpson believes his first Paralympic experience has equipped him with all the tools necessary to become an alpine skiing great.
Guided by older brother Andrew, the 19-year-old visually impaired skier from Aberdeenshire made history last weekend by becoming the first British athlete to strike Olympic or Paralympic gold on snow.
Neil and Andrew, 21, were crowned Super-G kings in the Beijing mountains before bolstering that with Super Combined bronze to cap an unforgettable Winter Paralympic debut.
The dynamic duo have looked completely unfazed on the big stage and admit getting a ‘teaser’ of the Games experience has whetted their appetite for more.
Neil, who came ninth in his final slalom event on Sunday, said: “There’s nothing to be afraid of at this level of competition.
“I know you have all that hype around it and everything like that but at the end of the day, it’s just some more races.
“It’s the same as any other race – I know you have all the additional pressure but if you’re able to put that to one side and cope with that, you can treat it as a normal race and go from there.
“That’s probably the one major learning I’d take from this into future World Championships and Paralympic Games.
“It’s given us a wee teaser – we obviously had the World Championships, which definitely helped us get ready for this.
“But this has taken it to another level – it should be plain sailing from now and we should be able to do the same every race going forward.”
The Simpson siblings were chosen as Great Britain’s flagbearers for the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.
Neil said: “To be chosen as flagbearers at the closing ceremony is such an incredible honour for me and my brother.
“When we were asked it really made what has already been a special Games for us even more amazing.”
The Simpsons came into the Games with major momentum after scooping Super Combined silver at January’s World Championships in Lillehammer.
And they decisively continued their hot streak with that record-breaking Super-G bronze on the second day of the Games.
Just 24 hours later, they added bronze to their collection before then racking up valiant fifth and ninth-place finishes in their final two technical slalom races.
The pair have revelled in their experience both on and off the piste and admit they’re travelling back to Banchory with memories they’ll never forget.
🌍 | Thank you for all your incredible support during these Games. 👏
That’s us signing off from Beijing 2022.
We hope you saw something you’ve never seen before. And we hope you’ll tell the world.#WinterParalympics #ParalympicsGB 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/E6F8HQOZ4v
— ParalympicsGB (@ParalympicsGB) March 13, 2022
“It’s been a really social and cool experience,” added Neil, who along with his brother is one of over 1,000 athletes able to train full-time thanks to National Lottery funding.
“The team environment has been really good – everything about it has been so helpful and really welcoming in every way possible. It’s been a really cool experience to be a part of.”
Andrew, who confirmed he will continue to guide his younger brother in the future, added: “There have been a lot of completely unforgettable experiences.
“Everything has been organised so well, everyone has been so welcoming and friendly and we couldn’t have asked for a better Games.
“It’s made it very special and will make our bond even stronger going forward.”
