Snapped knee ligament, fractured back and then the worst; a broken heel… After fighting back from the worst injury of her life British Snowboarder Kate Omerod is eager to fulfil her Olympic dream
- British snowboarder Katie Ormerod was a medal hopeful at Pyeongchang, 2018
- A severe fracture – that almost ended her career – prevented her from competing
- Ormerod says the goal for her season is to qualify for the 2022 Beijing Games
- To do so, she must live in Europe to avoid ‘falling behind’ during the pandemic
British snowboarder Katie Ormerod is eager to ‘show the world’ what she ‘can do on a snowboard’ at the Winter Olympics.
Ormerod says her ‘main focus for the season’ is to qualify for the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games after missing the opportunity to compete at Pyeongchang due to a severe fracture that almost ended her career.
However, Ormerod has admitted that she has had to leave her family to live in Europe, amid the pandemic, to avoid ‘falling behind’ her competitors in her most ‘important season’.
British snowboarder Katie Ormerod was a medal hopeful at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics
Ormerod spent the UK’s first lockdown in the country, before heading to Europe to aid her chances of qualifying for the Olympic Games.
She told Sportsmail: ‘My main focus for the whole season is to qualify for the Olympics.
She missed the opportunity to compete due to a severe fracture that almost ended her career
Ormerod says that her goal for the season is to qualify for the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games
‘I spent lockdown at home with my family, but now that things are getting worse again – especially in the UK – I am most likely going to have to stay out in Europe all season.
‘This is a really important season as this is the Olympic qualification season, so I need to be doing every World Cup otherwise I’ll fall behind, and I don’t want to risk going home and not being able to get back out.
‘So, I will be staying in Europe – which means I can do more training anyway.’
The 23-year-old qualified for the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games but never got to take part in the competition due to a career-threatening injury.
The Pyeongchang games would have been Ormerod’s first Olympics as she was scheduled to compete in two events, slopestyle and Big Air.
Ormerod was regarded as Great Britain’s most promising medal prospect following her success at the World Cup and X-Games.
However, her Olympic Games was over before it had even begun as she broke her heel in two the night before the competition was due to start.
However, to do so she must live in Europe to avoid ‘falling behind’ during the pandemic
Ormerod says she is passionate about showing the world what she can on a snowboard
Ormerod has previously snapped her anterior cruciate knee ligament, damaged the meniscus in both knees, fractured her shoulder and both arms, as well as her back, but says this was her most serious injury to date.
The Halifax star underwent seven operations, a skin graft and almost two years of gruelling rehab before she returned to action.
Looking ahead to the 2022 Games in Beijing, Ormerod says she is not nervous about competing and that she is eager to ‘show the world’ what she ‘can do on a snowboard’.
She said: ‘I’m not feeling any pressure. Especially after last season as I had the best season of my career so far by winning the crystal globe. I am more just looking forward to it as I didn’t get to compete last time.
‘I am looking forward to the whole process, doing these World Cup’s to qualify – which I am really enjoying – and then if I hopefully qualify I can actually show the world what I can do on a snowboard.
‘That’s the dream right now, just to be able to compete.’
For more information on Katie check out her athlete profile on Redbull.com