Katie Ormerod grew up snowboarding on a plastic slope in Halifax.
But if the 23-year-old can land the Winter Olympic gong she so craves in the Slopestyle or Big Air events then, despite her inauspicious start, there won’t be a major event in her chosen field in which she hasn’t medalled.
She is an 11-time World Cup medalist, a Big Air world champion, has a bronze medal from the prestigious Laax Open and is an X Games bronze medalist.
And, in 2020, she became the first British winner of the Crystal Globe when she was crowned Overall World Cup Slopestyle champion.
“I absolutely love all the medals I’ve got, I pretty much have everything except an Olympic medal, so that would definitely be nice to add to the collection,” said Ormerod, who was forced out of the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang with a career-threatening heel injury just two days before they started.
“In my comeback season, I had the best season of my career, with five World Cup podiums, three Yellow Bibs and my first Crystal Globe.
“That in itself would have been really amazing regardless of having 18 months off with injury, but because of that it feels even nicer that I came back and did that.
“It was also the first Olympic qualifying year and since then I have had good results as well, so I’m definitely going into Beijing in really good shape and feeling really confident.
“Now I’m just hoping I can land the best runs and see what result I can get.
“Women’s snowboarding now is really exciting because the progression is going up and up.
“Because of that, every girl at the Olympics has a chance to podium.
“It means I’m going to have to produce my best run ever but I’ve had some really good results over the last few years so I know it’s possible.
“I’m so proud of the fact I’ve come from snowboarding on plastic slopes to competing at the Olympic Games.
“Hopefully my story will have inspired others to get involved in snowboarding and prove it is doable.
“What I really want to try to show is, ‘If you have a dream, always try to work towards it, no matter what’.”
Viewers tuning in to coverage of the Winter Olympics will be awed by the athleticism of Ormerod and her fellow snow-sport athletes competing on the jumps, bumps, rails and pipes.
And no doubt many will be left thinking they must all have a screw loose to do what they do.
Ormerod added: “There’s definitely a bit of craziness in the athletes.
“But it’s just part of my personality, I’ve been an athlete for as long as I can remember and I’ve always wanted to push myself, push the limits, and even push the whole sport.
“I became the first girl in the world to land the Backside Double Cork 180, so it’s always been in me to just want to keep pushing the limits and boundaries of what’s possible.
“But even though I’m a professional snowboarder, I do turn up to some events and look at the jumps and think, ‘This is crazy that this is so normal for me’.”
