Scott Meenagh (born 16 September 1989) is a British para Nordic skier and former

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

soldier. Meenagh came second the 12.5km individual biathlon event at the 2023 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships, and competed at the

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and

2022 Winter Paralympics The 2022 Winter Paralympics (), also known as XIII Paralympic Winter Games, commonly known as Beijing 2022 (), were an international winter multi-sport parasports event held in Beijing, China, from 4 to 13 March 2022. This was the 13th Winter ...

Early life and Army career

Meenagh is from

Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; ) is a large town in the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, most-populous locality in Scotl ...

, Scotland. He played

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

for Scotland under-18s. Meeangh served in the

Parachute Regiment, and was deployed to Afghanistan. In 2011, he lost both of his legs after stepping on an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

Helmand Province Helmand (Pashto language, Pashto/Dari language, Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering ...

. He was rehabilitated at

Headley Court Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre Headley Court (abbreviated to DMRC Headley Court, and more commonly known as Headley Court), formerly RAF Headley Court, was an United Kingdom Ministry of Defence facility in Headley, near Epsom, Surrey, Eng ...

, and now uses prosthetic limbs. Meenagh was a spectator of the

Paralympic Nordic skiing Paralympic Nordic skiing is a Winter Paralympics sport consisting of Paralympic biathlon, biathlon and Paralympic cross-country skiing, cross-country skiing. The sport is governed by the International Paralympic Committee, with its subcommittee for ...

events at the

2014 Winter Paralympics The 2014 Winter Paralympics (), the 11th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, were an international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Par ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

, Russia.

Sports career

Meenagh competed in

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

, and was a captain of the British Army team at the

2014 Invictus Games The 2014 Invictus Games were held on 10–14 September 2014. Around 300 competitors from 13 countries which have fought alongside the United Kingdom in recent military campaigns participated. These included the United States, Australia, Canada, ...

. He failed to qualify for the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, f ...

. Meenagh joined the Armed Forces Para Snow Sports team in 2016. Meenagh was selected for the

2018 Winter Paralympics The 2018 Winter Paralympics (), the 12th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, were an international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the Internation ...

Pyeongchang Pyeongchang ( , ; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seo ...

, South Korea. He was the first British Nordic skier at a Paralympics for 20 years. He finished 17th in the 15km free cross-country event. In biathlon, he finished 16th in the 7.5km event, 13th in the 12.5km event and 14th in the 15km event. Meenagh was selected for the

. He finished 12th in the 18km classical event, and was part of the first British relay team to finish the 4 × 2.5km relay event at a Paralympics, alongside Steve Arnold, Steve Thomas and Callum Deboys. Meenagh came second in the 12.5km individual biathlon event at the 2023 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships. He was the first Briton to win a medal at the Championships, and he also finished fourth in the 7.5km individual biathlon event. He was the only British competitor at the Championships.

References

External links

* *
Scott Meenagh
at

British Rowing British Rowing, formerly the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), is the national governing body for the sport of rowing (both indoor and on-water rowing). It is responsible for the training and selection of individual rowers and crews represent ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meenagh, Scott 1989 births Living people Scottish male biathletes Scottish male cross-country skiers Cross-country skiers at the 2018 Winter Paralympics Biathletes at the 2018 Winter Paralympics Cross-country skiers at the 2022 Winter Paralympics Paralympic cross-country skiers for Great Britain Paralympic biathletes Scottish Paralympic competitors British Parachute Regiment soldiers Sportspeople from Cumbernauld Scottish male rowers Scottish rugby union players 21st-century Scottish sportsmen