Ormerod proud to finally call herself an Olympian

Snowboarding 05 Feb 22

Katie Ormerod was determined to accentuate the positive after finally making her Olympic debut in Beijing.

Four years ago the 24-year old snowboarder broke her wrist in training and then her heel on the eve of the Games in PyeongChang, requiring surgery and 18 months of rehab before she could walk without pain.

She bounced back to become the first British snowboarder to win a World Cup overall title, claiming the Crystal Globe two years ago.

Ormerod needed a top 12 finish in qualifying to make Sunday's final but found herself in 18th after two runs at the Genting Snow Park.

However, after admitting there were dark times when she wondered whether she'd compete again, just competing mattered.

"I've been waiting a really long time for this moment, to drop in and compete in an Olympic Games," she said.

"I was stood at the top before my first run when I was about to drop in and I was like, 'wow, this is my moment, I've become an Olympian finally.'

“It was a really special moment and just to land that first run and get down, I've never felt a feeling like that. It was pure joy, and I'm so proud of myself for everything I've gone through, to finally get there again.

"It's been awesome being out here. You definitely know you're at the Olympics - the Olympic vibe is high.

"To finally drop in and know I'm an Olympian now. I've been waiting so long - literally years, to say that."

Ormerod admitted she had found training challenging on a course she labelled as 'huge' on first inspection this week. And she will now switch focus to the Big Air event on February 14th.

"The conditions were okay but it's been very challenging in the training days, which meant that I needed the hour's training today to try and piece a run together," she added.

"It has been very difficult, I'm really proud I made it happen, made it work and I got a run down. 

"I've got Big Air next, so I'm just going to rest in between and put all my focus into that."