Ormerod turns thoughts to Beijing while recovering from heel injury

Snowboarder Katie Ormerod has refocused on the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics after her first Games ended before it had begun.

The 20-year-old Brighouse athlete is flying flying home on Friday, a week after undergoing surgery to insert two pins into a heel she fractured into two pieces on the second day of snowboard slopestyle training.

Ormerod, who faces six weeks on crutches followed by three months of rehabilitation, said: “I’ve been dreaming of competing at the Olympics since I can remember.

“I just can’t believe how much bad luck I’ve had here. It just sucks.

“At these Games I really wanted to come here and do my best and hopefully bring back a medal.

“Once I start my rehab and get back on my board I just want to keep progressing as much as I can.

“If I carry on as I have done I should be fine qualifying for Beijing and hopefully I can still be up there in medal contention.”

Ormerod knew the moment she fell that the injury was serious and medics told her it was rare.

She added: “I’ve done that trick (a 50/50) probably thousands of times.

“(And) the heel is one of the hardest bones to break in the body.

“No-one could believe I broke it that badly. They’ve never seen an injury like that before in snowboarding.”

Ormerod’s parents, Mark and Claire, had been due to travel to South Korea to watch her.

She told them to amend their travel plans and stay at home, not expecting the week-long hospital stay. Now she is keen to see them.

She has received plenty of messages of support, including from a rapper.

“I had a tweet from Rudimental saying get well soon so that was pretty cool,” she added.