Etherington carries GB flag as Sochi 2014 ends

Lincoln's record-breaking skierJade Etherington, battled through the pain barrier to carry the flag at the closing ceremony of the Winter Paralympics in Sochi - but admitted her future in the sport was uncertain.

The proud 23-year-old refused to let illness deny her the chance to lead the team into the Fisht Stadium on Sunday night after it forced her out of her final race.

The athlete was laid low with an ovarian cyst rupture on Saturday night and spent much of the following day in a wheelchair due to the intense pain before managing to walk at the night's parade. She said:

"I am so honoured. I felt better in the evening for the ceremony, but I was taking pain killers. I was in a wheelchair for most of the day, but I knew I needed to stand to lift the flag."

The Team GB athletes have tweeted pictures as they prepare for the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games closing ceremony.

See more: Etherington named GB flagbearer as Sochi 2014 ends

Jade Etherington has spoken of her pride in being selected to carry the GB flat at tonight's closing ceremony,

A senior management team of ParalympicsGB staff, headed by chef de missionPenny Briscoe, chose Etherington as flag bearer.

Lincoln's Jade Etherington has had to pull out of her final event of the Winter Paralympics in Sochi through illness.

There were great hopes that visually-impaired Jade and her guide Caroline Powell would have gone on the win a record-breaking fifth medal - and potentially their first gold -in the giant slalom. But Jade was ill last night and still felt unwell this morning.

However, she has been named as Great Britain's flag bearer for tonight's closing ceremony - illness permitting. A decision on her involvement in the ceremony at the Fisht Stadium will be made later.

As the Sochi Winter Paralympics come to a close, Britain has managed to grab six medals in total for the visually impaired super-G, visually impaired downhill, slalom and super combined, as well as in the wheelchair curling event. Here is a list of the winners:

Gold

• Kelly Gallagher and Charlotte Evans (visually impaired super-G) - One medal

Silver

• Jade Etherington and Caroline Powell (visually impaired downhill, slalom and super combined) - Three medals

Bronze

• Jade Etherington and Caroline Powell (visually impaired super-G) - One medal

• Wheelchair curling team (Aileen Neilson, Gregor Ewan, Jim Gault, Bob McPherson, Angie Malone) - One medal

Great Britain's four-time Winter Paralympic medallist Jade Etherington has withdrawn from her final event of the Games, the giant slalom, through illness.

The British Paralympic Association announced that the visually-impaired skier and her guide Caroline Powell would not bid for a fifth medal on Sunday.

Etherington has been unwell over the past 12 hours and has been under the close supervision of the ParalympicsGB chief medical officer, Dr Stuart Miller. She still felt unwell on Sunday morning, with the decision not to compete made jointly by herself, Powell and Dr Miller.