Millie Knight fears for her skiing future as she panics at the prospect of replacing long-term guide Brett Wild.
The visually impaired star, 23, has racked up four Paralympic medals alongside Wild since 2018 but the pair raced together for the final time in Beijing last weekend as they finished eighth in the slalom.
Knight and Wild, 29, first united in 2016 but after bolstering their Paralympic medals – including downhill bronze last weekend – with six World Championship podiums, Glaswegian Wild is moving on to pursue a career as a Royal Navy officer.
Knight knows Wild has been her rock for the last six years and admits her career is on a knife-edge as she looks to rebuild ahead of Milan-Cortina 2026.
“Before Brett, I had hundreds of guides and finding the right one was very, very difficult,” said the Kent speedster.
"It took a long time – I’m not looking forward to having to go through that again, and it’s quite unsettling.
“We’ve made a lot of progress together, even in the last couple of months, so to keep that momentum going with a new guide is going to be difficult.
“Hopefully there’ll be somebody who will want to put up with me – I’m not ready to move on just yet.
“I don’t really know what I’m going to do without Brett to be honest - I’ll be lost for a little while and it will be challenging.”
Knight and Wild followed up their brilliant bronze with fourth-place finishes in the Super-G and Super Combined before top tens in the technical slalom events brought their journey to an end.
The dynamic duo first joined forces at a camp in Stubai, Austria, back in 2016 and hit it off immediately before taking the following year’s World Championships by storm.
Knight had already become the youngest athlete to represent ParalympicsGB at a Winter Games at Sochi 2014 – aged 15 – and alongside Wild, cemented her status as one of the sport’s hottest prospects by winning downhill gold and three silver medals at the 2017 World Championships in Tarvisio, Italy.
They then soared to two silvers and a bronze at PyeongChang 2018 before enduring a trickier four years coming into the next Games cycle in Beijing.
Knight suffered four concussions – including one serious incident in Leogang, Austria, last year – but battled back from the brink and fearing she’d never ski again to bag that brave downhill bronze on the first day of the Games.
She added: “I wouldn’t be here still without Brett.
“He’s been the most incredible influence, friend, guide, sports psychologist that I’ve ever had.
“I owe him everything – I’ve been through all my toughest times and best times with him.
“I certainly enjoyed that today – it was so good. Our last run together and it felt amazing.”
Wild, who is getting married to fiancé Claire Devlin on April 1 before ramping up his training to become a Royal Navy officer, added: “It was brilliant – I’m really, really pleased with Millie’s skiing.
“We made the decision a while back that this would be our last race together before I return to the Navy – it’s quite a special day.
“We had fun, had a laugh and made the most of it.
“It’s been phenomenal – we’ve just gone from strength to strength over the years and it’s been such an incredible journey.
“It feels like the right time and I’m ready to move on - but I’ve loved it.”
The short-term future remains uncertain for Knight but at 23, she still hopes to give the Games in Milan-Cortina a crack in 2026.
She’s still missing a Paralympic title from her glittering collection and admits the prospect of changing that on European soil is intensifying her desire to continue.
“I’d quite like to go to a European Games with friends and family,” added Knight, one of over 1,000 athletes able to train full-time, access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering technology, science and medical support thanks to vital National Lottery funding.
“The last three Games have been quite a long way away in very different time zones.
“I’m aware, and feel like, I’m a bit of an old dog at this now! There are some very, very young and extremely talented girls coming through – if I’m going to continue and go for that gold I’m going to have to work my socks off.”
No one does more to support our Olympic and Paralympic athletes than National Lottery players, who raise more than £30 million each week for good causes including grassroots and elite sport. Discover the positive impact playing the National Lottery has at www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk and get involved by using the hashtag: #TNLAthletes
