Second unlucky break is Olympic dream killer for Katie Ormerod

Great Britain's Katie Ormerod has been ruled out of the Winter Olympics with a heel fracture. Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Wire

The snowboarder suffered a wrist fracture during the first day of training but posted a picture of herself in the cast and insisted she would compete this weekend.

But another fall yesterday left her with a fractured heel that required immediate surgery and left her Olympic dreams in tatters.

The 20-year old was considered one of Britain’s best medal hopes having been a regular on World Cup podiums in both slopestyle and big air events during the last 12 months.

Ormerod, from Brighouse in Yorkshire, only just missed out on selection for the last Olympics due to injury and has consistently pushed the boundaries in her sport, perfecting a dizzying array of tricks. She was the youngest girl to land a double backflip on a snowboard and the first to execute a fiendishly difficult backside double cork 1080.

This is not her first injury on the eve of a major competition – she missed last year’s World Championship after fracturing a vertebra in her back in pre-competition training.

Team GB chef de mission Mike Hay said: “We are deeply sorry for Katie and her fellow snowboarders who have lost a valued member of their close-knit team.

“She is a world class competitor across both disciplines and we are desperately disappointed for her and wish her all the best for her recovery.”

Four years ago Jenny Jones won Britain’s first Olympic medal on snow in Ormerod’s event and hopes were high that the youngster could improve on that bronze.

She is one of the leading lights in a team dubbed the “fridge kids” because they’ve learned their trade in Britain’s indoor snow domes.

British Skiing performance director Dan Hunt said: “We are all devastated for Katie, who was in strong form coming into the Olympics. She is a talented athlete and wonderful role model. At a young age she has already achieved highly within the sport, most recently with gold at the World Cup in  Russia last year.

“Her determined and fearless nature will see her come back from this and reach the exciting potential and future that is ahead of her.

“We wish her all the best and with four park and pipe snowboarders competing, her team-mates will now be giving their all for her as well as their nation over these Games.”

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