James Whitley (alpine skier)

James Whitley (born 17 November 1997) is a British alpine skier, who competes in the slalom, giant slalom SuperG, Downhill and Super Combined events. A promising junior skier, Whitley qualified to represent Great Britain's team at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi for his debut Paralympics. In January 2018 it was announced by BPA (British Paralympic Association) and PSGB (ParaSnowSportsGB) that Whitley had been selected to compete in Pyeongchang in the 2018 Winter Paralympics. In February 2022, Whitley was named by the BPA as part of the ParalympicsGB squad for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics.[1]

James Whitley
Whitley at La Molina, 2013
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born (1997-11-17) 17 November 1997
Sport
Country Great Britain
SportPara alpine skiing
Event(s)Slalom
Giant Slalom
Achievements and titles
Paralympic finals2014 Sochi
2018 Pyeongchang
2022 Beijing

Personal history

Whitley was born on 17 November 1997.[2] He is the grandson of James Chichester-Clark, Lord Moyola, the former Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.[3][4][5] He spent his childhood in Sussex and at Castledawson in Northern Ireland. Whitley was born without both hands and despite multiple operations, fingers constructed for both his limbs have failed to gain enough nerve or muscle function.[6] His Paralympic Class is LW5/7-3. He attended St. Bede's Preparatory School before going to Millfield School, a boarding school in Somerset, England. Whitley has been dating actress Ella Heryet since 2020 and they currently reside in West Sussex.

Skiing career

Whitley began skiing at the age of four years[7] while with his family at Courchevel, France. He first trained with Ecole du Ski Français. He showed promise as a youth and in 2007, aged 10 was offered a place on the British Disabled Ski Team (BDST). He started to race with the British team when he was 11 in 2008.[7] In 2012 he came second in the giant slalom and third in slalom at the Italian National Championships, his first senior medals. In 2013 Whitley entered the 2013 IPC Skiing World Championships in La Molina, where he finished 11th in the slalom.[3]

In early 2014 it was announced that he had been selected for the Great Britain team at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, competing in the standing events.[8] This made him the only standing skier competing for ParalympicsGB.[9] The 2014 Winter Paralympics was Whitley's debut Paralympics; he competed in the slalom (14th place) on 13 March 2014, and giant slalom (15th place) on the 15 March.[10]

Whitley left school in 2016 and has competed full time since the beginning of the 2016/17 season. He competes in the Para Alpine Skiing World Cup (WPAS) in Slalom, Giant Slalom, SuperG, Downhill and Super Combined. He was British Champion in the inaugural British Para Alpine Championships in 2016 and again in 2017. He won gold in the Europa Cup Finals in Veysonnaz in 2017 and was 4th overall in the Europa Cup competition. In the World Cup he ended the season 5th in Super Combined and 9th in Slalom.

On 10 March 2022, Whitley secured his best-ever Paralympic result with a 6th place finish in the giant slalom[11] at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing.

Motor racing career
Whitley in Team Brit racing outfit Silverstone 2022
BMW M240i Racing edition car

In 2021 Whitley joined Team BRIT[12] and after gaining his racing licence competed alongside co-driver Chris Overend[13] in a BMW M240i in class 2 of the 2022 Britcar Trophy Championship.

Britcar Trophy races are 50 minutes long with a driver change pit stop approximately half way through, each race consisting of at least 30 cars competing in 5 different classes.

All event results are published by TSL Timing Solutions.[14]

Race Results Team Brit BMW M240i

Race circuit Date Race number Place in class Drivers/Remarks
Silverstone 13-March-2022 1 3rd Thomas/Overend + Fastest Lap
SIlverstone 13-March-2022 2 1st Thomas/Overend + Fastest Lap
Snetterton 15-May-2022 1 3rd Whitley/Overend + Fastest Lap
Snetterton 15-May-2022 2 1st Overend/Whitley + Fastest Lap
Silverstone 4-Jun-2022 1 1st Whitley/Overend + Fastest Lap
Silverstone 4-Jun-2022 2 1st Overend/Whitley + Fastest Lap
Silverstone 19-June-2022 1 2nd Whitley/Overend + Fastest Lap
Silverstone 19-June-2022 2 1st Overend/Whitley + Fastest Lap
Donington 14-August-2022 1 2nd Whitley/Overend
Donington 14-August-2022 2 1st Overend/Whitley + Fastest Lap
Donington 23-October-2022 1 1st Overend/Whitley + Fastest Lap
Donington 23-October-2022 2 2nd Whitley/Overend

At the end of the season, James Whitley and Chris Overend were championship winners, becoming probably the only disabled drivers pairing to win a British racing championship[15]

In 2023, Whitley continues to partner Chris Overend in Team BRIT competing in the Britcar Endurance series.

References
  1. "20-strong Ski and Snowboard squad selected to represent ParalympicsGB at Beijing Games – GB Snowsport". gbsnowsport.com. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  2. "James Whitley". Sochi. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  3. "Elite Squad: James Whitley". disabilitysnowsport.org.uk. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  4. Campbell, Stanley. "Paralympic ski star Whitley has Castledawson connections". midulstermail.co.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  5. "James Whitley". paralympics.channel4.com. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  6. "James Whitley". infostradasports.com. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  7. "Millfield School skier James Whitley eager and focused for Sochi Paralympics". Central Somerset Gazette. 6 March 2014. Archived from the original on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  8. "Sochi 2014: GB name Winter Paralympic ski team". BBC Sport. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  9. Hanna, Laurie (3 March 2014). "Whitley seeks F1 speed in Sochi". Channel 4. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  10. "Sochi 2014: GB Winter Paralympic team profiles". BBC. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  11. "Beijing Results". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  12. "James Whitley at Team Brit". Team Brit.
  13. "Chris Overend at Team Brit". Team Brit.
  14. "TSL Timing Solutions". TSL Timing Solutions.
  15. "Britcar Trophy Championship goes to the wire". Britcar Endurance.
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