Vicky Gosling Funds 2026 Paralympians For Podiums And Purpose
· Yahoo Sports
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 13: Vicky Gosling talks during the eSC Forum prior to day one of the eSkootr Championship Round 1 at Printworks London on May 13, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images for eSC)
Getty Images for eSC(I interviewed Gosling on March 5th, 2026. Her quotes are taken from the transcript of that interview.)
Visit xsportfeed.life for more information.
In the span of just a few weeks, GB Snowsports’ CEO Vicky Gosling went from celebrating historic Olympic breakthroughs for British athletes to pursuing something deeper: the emotional resonance of the Paralympic Games.
For Gosling, the transition was not a comedown from Olympic highs. It’s supporting a cadre of elite adaptive athletes seeking redemption via sport.
Speaking from a brief stopover in the UK after the Olympics and just prior to returning to Milan for the Paralympic Opening Ceremony, Gosling was passionate and inspired: “This isn’t the pinnacle,” she says of Britain’s recent Olympic success. “This is the platform.”
A Breakthrough Moment For British Snow Sport
The Olympic Games delivered something Britain has long chased in winter sport: legitimacy in freestyle disciplines traditionally dominated by powerhouse nations like Switzerland, Austria, Sweden and Norway. Athletes like Zoe Atkin proved that British competitors are no longer outsiders—they are contenders.
LIVIGNO, ITALY - FEBRUARY 22: Bronze medalist Zoe Atkin of Team Great Britain celebrates during the medal ceremony for the Women's Freeski Halfpipe Final on day sixteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Livigno Air Park on February 22, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Getty ImagesAtkin delivered a breakthrough performance that firmly established her among the elite in freeski halfpipe. The 23-year-old, competing for Team GB, qualified first for the final, posting a leading score of 91.50 and signaling early that she was a genuine gold medal contender. But in a stacked field headlined by Eileen Gu and China’s Li Fanghui, the margins proved razor-thin. On her final attempt, Atkin landed a score of 92.50 nonetheless, securing the bronze medal—Great Britain’s fifth of a record-setting Games.
TOPSHOT - Britain's Zoe Atkin competes in the freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe qualification run 1 during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Livigno Snow Park, in Livigno (Valtellina), on February 19, 2026. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images“It’s more important than just the medals,” Gosling explained. “Moments like this inspire the next generation. Young athletes now see that British skiers can stand on Olympic podiums in these disciplines.” That shift—from just participating to succeeding—marks a fundamental evolution in British winter sport strategy and the expectations of British fans.
Bankes And Nightingale Win Gold
BAKURIANI, GEORGIA - MARCH 3: Huw Nightingale, Charlotte Bankes of Team GRB wins the gold medal during the FIS Snowboard World Championships Men's and Women's Snowboard Cross on March 3, 2023 in Bakuriani, Georgia. (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
Getty ImagesIn a defining moment for Team GB, Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale surged to gold in the snowboard cross mixed-team event with a performance that blended precision and trust. Bankes, already one of the sport’s most decorated riders, set the tone with a clean, aggressive opening leg, before Nightingale held firm under immense pressure in the final descent. Their performance delivered Great Britain its first-ever Olympic title in the discipline, signaling a new era for British snowboarding and underscoring the nation’s growing competitiveness on winter sports’ biggest stage.
Across the board the results reinforced that trajectory. Freeskier Kirsty Muir came agonizingly close to the podium. Meanwhile, cross-country skier Andrew Musgrave stunned observers with two fifth-place finishes against traditionally dominant Nordic nations. For Gosling, these results validate years of strategic investment. “We’ve delivered the best results in British history,” she says. “We’ve inspired the nation—and we’ve validated our strategy.”
The Paralympic Shift: Sport Meets Transformation
The Olympics have always been about athletes inspiring us with their performances, persevering and overcoming adversity. The Paralympics are about all of that and more. As the conversation with Vicky Gosling turned toward the upcoming Paralympic Games, Gosling’s tone shifted subtly. The metrics of success broaden. Medals still matter—but they are no longer the sole measure. Paralympic sport doesn’t just level the playing field—it redefines what the field is.
Brothers
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, ITALY - MARCH 10: Neil Simpson of Team Great Britain competes during the Slalom leg of the Para Alpine Skiing Men's Alpine Combined Vision Impaired on day four of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre on March 10, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Getty ImagesSkier Neil Simpson, who competes with his brother Andrew Simpson as his guide, epitomizes this statement. Together, they’ve already made history, winning Paralympic gold. In fact in the 2022 Paralympics he would become the first British male athlete to win gold on snow. The pair won gold in the Super-G and followed that up with bronze in the Super Combined.
“The trust between them goes beyond the slopes,” Gosling says. “His brother has sacrificed a great deal to be there for him.”
Simpson would use back up guide Rob Poth in the 2026 Games. Poth had been an alternate guide in the past for Simpson so there was already high trust between them as well—so crucial when one is skiing at extreme speeds despite limited vision. The duo would go on to win a silver medal in the Men’s Alpine Combined (VI G).
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, ITALY - MARCH 10: Silver medalist Neil Simpson of Team Great Britain, and his guide Rob Poth, pose for a photo during the medal ceremony for the Para Alpine Skiing Men's Alpine Combined Vision Impaired on day four of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre on March 10, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
Getty ImagesThis marked Great Britain’s first medal of the Milano Cortina 2026 games. Simpson would finish 0.65 seconds behind Italy's Giacomo Bertagnolli. Simpson (accompanied by Poth) would also go on to finished in 4th in the Men’s Downhill and 4th in the Men's Super-G.
“If you didn’t know he had a visual impairment, you wouldn’t believe it,” Gosling says.
Pioneers And Pathways
Perhaps the most powerful embodiment of the Paralympic ethos is Scott Meenagh.A double amputee injured in Afghanistan, Meenagh first emerged through the Invictus Games, the global sporting event for wounded service personnel founded by Prince Harry. Now competing at the highest level in para Nordic skiing—arguably one of the most physically demanding disciplines—Meenagh has already claimed a World Championship silver medal. “That is nails,” Gosling says. “That is really hard.”
VAL DI FIEMME, ITALY - MARCH 8: Scott Meenagh of Team Great Britain in action during the Men´s Individual Competition Sitting on day two of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games at Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium on March 8, 2026 in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo by Daniel Kopatsch/VOIGT/GettyImages)
Getty ImagesHis journey—from battlefield trauma to elite competition—embodies what Gosling describes as the “unconquerable spirit” shared by both Paralympians and Invictus athletes.
SPENCERS WOOD, UNITED KINGDOM - APRIL 19: Prince Harry gestures after being asked by one of the audience of children if he will ever become King, as he sits flanked by presenter Di Dougherty (L) and rowing competitor Scott Meenagh, who lost both his legs after stepping on an IED in Afghanistan, as they take part in filming for the Sky Sports 'Game Changers' television show for an episode dedicated to the Invictus Games at Lambs Lane Primary School on April 19, 2016 in Spencers Wood, United Kingdom. (Photo by Matt Dunham - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Getty ImagesA Moment That Captured Her Imagination
Gosling’s perspective is shaped by decades of experience, including her work with the Invictus Games and her earlier career in the Royal Air Force. Across those environments, a consistent theme has emerged: sport as a vehicle for transformation and redemption.
“It’s not just about results,” she says. “It’s about dignity, recovery, and belief.”
When I ask her to name a defining moment for her she recalled a paralyzed Jordanian woman competing in the Invictus Games in 2016. Ulfat Al-Zwiri’s story at the Invictus Games Orlando 2016 redefines how athletes can inspire the world.
Al-Zwiri’s life had been fundamentally altered by a 2009 car accident while working with the Jordanian Armed Forces, leaving her paralyzed below the waist with limited hand function. A later surgery offered little improvement. What sport eventually gave her was not physical restoration, but something more durable: purpose. “Life should never stop after an injury,” she said. “Life should go on.”
Al-Zwiri was an unlikely entrant—initially not even listed among the nearly 500 competitors. She was the only woman on Jordan’s team, representing not just her country but a broader shift in visibility for adaptive athletes in the region. She trained with what she had, practicing in a standard wheelchair back home in Amman.
ORLANDO, FL - MAY 10: Ulfat Al-Zwiri of Jordan (R) is seen getting support by a competitor during the Invictus Games Orlando 2016 Track & Field Finals at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on May 10, 2016 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Al-Zwiri finished in last place but crossed the line to a standing ovation. (Photo by Alex Menendez/ Getty Images for Invictus Games)
Getty ImagesPrior to her event, she had been alone on the track—visibly struggling with a racing chair she had only begun using days before, without proper equipment like racing gloves, her hands and limited mobility working against her. Yet she continued, driven less by competition than by a deeply personal test: to discover her limits and push beyond them.
ORLANDO, FL - MAY 10: Ulfat Al-Zwiri of Jordan is seen during the Invictus Games Orlando 2016 Track & Field Finals at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on May 10, 2016 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Al-Zwiri finished in last place but crossed the line to a standing ovation. (Photo by Alex Menendez/ Getty Images for Invictus Games)
Getty ImagesAt the finish, she arrived last—more than a minute behind the field in the women’s 100-meter wheelchair race—but it no longer mattered. The stadium had shifted its gaze. Competitors who had already crossed the line turned around and rolled back to meet her, the crowd rising as she pushed forward meter by meter, adjusting her wheels, refusing to stop. When she finally crossed in just over two minutes, she was met not with silence, but with a standing ovation by the entire stadium and the hugs and embraces of her competitors. Al-Zwiri’s Invictus story is not about where she finished, but why she refused to stop.
TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 30: Prince Harry shakes hands with flag bearer Ulfat Al-Zwiri of Jordan during the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games 2017 at Air Canada Centre on September 30, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation )
gettyAdaptive sport is about redeeming what at first might look like an unredeemable story.
“That changed how I saw sport,” Gosling says. “The entire arena was behind her. That’s the power of community.” It’s a philosophy she describes through a simple metaphor: a single matchstick breaks easily, but a bundle does not. “Surround athletes with people who support them, and they can go so much further,” she explains.
Beyond Medals
Going into the Paralympics then, the focus for GB Snowsport was and is clear: performance matters, but impact matters more. “In a world that can feel divided,” she says, “sport has this incredible ability to unite people around a common purpose.”
It’s a belief rooted in lived experience—across battlefields, finish lines, and podiums.