Mills: downhill all the way

Paul Carter

Former model Heather Mills has moved a step closer to realising her ambition of competing in the Paralympics after being offered a trial with the British disabled ski team’s development squad.

Mills, who has been seen most recently on reality ice-skating TV shows on both sides of the Atlantic, is hoping to qualify for the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games which will take place in Sochi, Russia.

The ex-wife of former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney became disabled in 1993 following a motorcycle accident.

While a place in the development squad does not guarantee progression into the full squad, many members do often progress to become competitive skiers.

British disabled ski team manager Dave Chugg played down the development, but said that Mills would have every opportunity to demonstrate her ability.

“Heather is only at the first stage of a journey that we hope will lead to her becoming a full squad member,” he said.

“She has made clear her ambition to represent Great Britain in adaptive ski racing and approached the British disabled ski team to try out for our development squad.

“At a recent assessment in an indoor ski slope, she demonstrated that she responds well to coaching and is capable of adapting her skiing in response to coaching direction.

Chugg said that Mills would be put on an intensive training programme designed to prepare potential skiers for the reality of a competitive environment.

“During the trial period with the development squad she will have the opportunity to develop her skills and follow a set programme both inside and outside of our squad setting.

“This will allow us to judge her progression from her current standard of being a very good recreational skier towards becoming a racer.

“At the end of that trial period we will make a further assessment based on how far she has improved and on her comparative performance with established racers and other development skiers.”

Having recently just turned 43 years old, Mills would normally be considered too old for a place in the development squad. However, Chugg says that they have made an exception due to Mills’s physical and mental conditioning.

“She has been invited onto the development team for the trial period because she is outside the usual age and ski profile for the team. However, she has shown good levels of fitness and determination.”

Chugg denied that she would receive any preferential treatment due to her high media profile.

“When working with our squads, Heather will be treated the same as any other team member in terms of our expectations on and off the slope,” he said.