Kieran looks ahead and warms up for winter

Kieran Nimmo has recently returned from a training camp in Fonna, Norway, with the British Parasport team, where he spent almost three weeks working on his technique away from the pressure of competition.

The 18-year-old, who has one arm, is loving being back on his skis after being blighted by injury over recent months, and admits he is in the form of his life ahead of the new season, which starts in November.

And while he misses competing during the summer months, Nimmo admits it has proved a useful break as he turns his focus to the less obvious aspects of performance.

“At this point in this season, we are just focusing on learning from the mentors rather than on competition,” said Nimmo, who benefits from being part of the SSE Next Generation programme.

“It’s four or five months until my next race, so we’re really working on making sure the actual skiing is good, and not worrying about competition.

“We were out there for just under three weeks, so it was a bit of a long camp, and it was really a mix of skills on snow with strength and conditioning, and flexibility training.

“If I’m honest, I actually miss the competitive elements of these camps; I do miss the element of trying to beat my teammates.

“I’m hitting the gym a lot and I’m looking at building relationships with a nutritionist as nutrition is probably the one element of my performance that I haven’t really focused upon.”

It has been a tough year for Nimmo as he has been suffering from tendinopathy in his Achilles, which results in pain when moving.

He has been given the all-clear though and believes he has returned from the set-back even stronger.

Nimmo, a former Greenfaulds High School pupil, said: “I was suffering from a bit of tendinopathy in my Achilles from about mid-February to now, but I’ve just got off injury status so that’s good.

“It’s been quite hard to remain positive through my injury. When something like this happens, it always knocks your confident a bit because it means you can’t push as hard when you’re training.

“I’m just thankful to the team I’ve had around me for their support, I feel I’ve come back a lot stronger.”

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