Winter Paralympics Star Reveals How Visually-Impaired Athletes Compete In The Dangerous Alpine Skiing Events

The thought of hurtling down an icy mountain slope at speeds upwards of seventy miles an hour is a frightening thought. For the Paralympian athletes at the upcoming Beijing Winter Paralympics 2022, the act would be much scarier.

Nevertheless, Paralympic skiers do it all the time, as they go for glory at the Paralympics. In fact, Paralympic alpine skiing is open to athletes who are amputees, visually impaired, wheelchair-bound, or suffering from brain injuries and impairments.

A Paralympian who shines bright across the world is Millie Knight. The British Paralympic skier only has five percent of her sight. However, that didn’t stop her from becoming one of the most decorated skiers of the past decade.

How Millie Knight skis downhill with visual impairment

Millie Knight was just six years old when she lost most of her vision. She was the youngest person to   compete for the Great Britain Paralympics team at the Winter Paralympic Games in 2014.

Moreover, she was also the Great Britan flagbearer at the 2014 Winter Paralympics. Subsequently, she went on to win a bronze medal, four silver medals, and a gold medal between 2015 and 2017 at the World Championships.

Then, when the time came to compete at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics, Knight excelled with two silver medals and a bronze medal.

As the Beijing Winter Paralympics 2022 approaches in the first week of March, the burning question for many is- how do Paralympians like Knight ski with little to no vision?

This is where their ski guides come in. Ski guides ski downhill along with the Paralympian, calling out every turn loudly, and always a turn ahead. The Paralympian then follows their verbal cues and turns along the curves accordingly.

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Knight, in particular, says, “I ski with my ears”. She follows her guide’s verbal instructions as well as the sound of his skis on the ice.

Additionally, the guide also instructs Knight to ‘load’ and ‘roll’, signifying weight distribution tactics on the skis. In fact, when it comes to skiing downhill at breakneck speeds with visual impairment, the bafflement of it is not lost on Knight.

Beijing Winter Paralympics 2022 could be her last Games

“It does seem a bit weird,” Knight said about “throwing (herself) down a mountain,” with visual impairment. “I think there must be some form of screw loose in my head,” the 22-year-old Paralympian admitted.

However, Knight was never going to let herself miss out on experiences due to her impairment. “Just because I couldn’t see, didn’t mean that  I wouldn’t be going on the family ski trips,” she shared.

Moreover, she also revealed the moment she decided to become a Paralympic skier. “I went on one trip and from the moment I drove up the mountain and saw so much snow, I just thought yeah, this is the sport for me,” the World Champion stated.

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Having five percent of her vision is not going to bring Millie Knight down, and she emphasizes that. “I love the way I view the world. I love the way that I see,” she said.

Furthermore, Knight shared that the Beijing Winter Paralympics 2022 could be her last Paralympics outing. Thus, she is going to ensure that she has nothing to regret.