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The sleepless schedule of a new parent might not be conventional Paralympic preparation, but James Barnes-Miller is hoping it will help him fly under the radar to a podium at Milano Cortina.

The para snowboarder became a dad in November 2025 and will head to Italy for his third and final Games in March, aiming for his first Paralympic medal in front of his daughter.

So far, the happy interlude has only aided Barnes-Miller, who secured his first Banked Slalom World Cup podium since 2022 on his return to the snow.

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“It’s been pretty mad. My preparation is good but different from the last couple of Games we've been to,” the 36-year-old explained. We crammed in a training camp just before the due date, so that was good. But since she's been born, it's been hard.

“We’ve had nights where we've had no sleep and I'm trying to then find some motivation and energy to go to the gym. There's been days where it's not been worth it. You're just at too high an injury risk, feeling too tired.

“Before it'd be like I can just train Monday, Tuesday, Thursday. Now it's just, I've got this amount of training to do, and I'll just fit it in whenever I can. But it’s cool. It’s obviously worked because I’ve come back to my first two races and I've got a sixth and a silver. I'm stoked with that.”

Barnes-Miller, who hails from Broadstairs in Kent, made his Paralympic debut in PyeongChang in 2018 and returned to Beijing 2022 as one of the favourites after a stellar 2021.

He won three medals at the 2021 World Championships in Lillehammer but could not convert that to a Paralympic podium a year later. Now living in France, he competes in the SB-UL class for athletes with an upper limb impairment in Snowboard Cross and Banked Slalom.

This Paralympic cycle has been hampered by injuries, including a fractured vertebrae in January 2024 that ruled him out for that season and affected his efforts in 2025. But despite the disruptions, Barnes-Miller is feeling back to his best and hopes to use the lessened weight of expectation to his advantage.

“The competitors have seen me struggling over the last couple of years turning up to shock them, hopefully will be to my benefit,” said Barnes-Miller.

“It was annoying missing the whole season [in 2024], so I worked really hard over that summer. But coming into last winter, my hips were hurting and it was all because of that original [injury]. Last season, I rode in pain the whole time, but we needed to qualify for the Games. It was a struggle that really, really sucked, but I just had to get my head down and do what we need to do to try and get in.

“A week after the season finished, I flew to the UK and went straight into our rehab unit and I spent all summer really getting fit. It’s obviously paid off with a podium already. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster.

“I can just come in under the radar and hopefully do the business this time. I definitely shocked a few people just getting a silver [at the World Cup].”

Despite the challenges of the past cycle, sport has remained a respite for Barnes-Miller, a born thrill seeker who loves getting out on his skateboarding when not on the snow.

And while he has not had much time to enjoy his second sporting love of late, owing to the intensity of his schedule, he is now supporting the ‘Every Body Moves’ campaign to connect disabled people with more opportunities to get active and encouraging participation across multiple sports.

“Getting on a skateboard, I can shut my brain off and just go for a cruise with the lads and have fun,” he explained. "I don’t have to think about anything else. Being given the opportunity to do that is a must, especially for people with disabilities that might not get those opportunities.”

And now, with the hardest work behind him, Barnes-Miller is looking forward to enjoying his last time on Paralympic slopes with his daughter and wife watching on.

“I just want to get there, and I want to enjoy every moment of it and have fun. That's what I'm doing for this whole season,” he added. "Having my wife and kid and my folks and friends and family all there, it's going to be rad.

“For me, these games are my last one. That’s three games, it's ten years of competing. Trying to get on the podium would be the icing on the cake.”

Discover Every Body Moves powered by Toyota, ParalympicsGB’s inclusive activity finder. Empowering disabled people to find ways to become more active locally or at home and inviting providers to promote more inclusive sessions across the UK. Find out more at everybodymoves.org.uk .