Beijing-bound Ormerod channelling gymnastic inspiration after Biles' Olympic struggles

As Simone Biles blinked bravely into the flashbulbs and spoke about her struggles in Tokyo, half a world away Katie Ormerod could certainly empathise. Biles, the greatest gymnast of her generation, tearfully admitted to not knowing her up from her down, underlining why the Olympics are often more about the struggle than the triumph. Gymnast turned snowboarder Ormerod, who also defies gravity for a living, knew just how she felt.

Ad/> After learning to ski as a four-year old, Ormerod — who stands just 4ft 9in in her ski boots — took delivery of her first snowboard one year later and has been careering downhill quickly since. At 16 she became the youngest female to land the 'backside double-cork 1080' but she missed selection for the Sochi Olympics, an untimely knee surgery on a torn lateral meniscus ruining her chances. Beijing 2022White heading for fifth Olympics after being included in US team22/01/2022 AT 13:02 Four years later she arrived in PyeongChang as one of Team GB's top medal hopes, only to break her wrist and then her heel on the eve of competition.

Ormerod winces as she recalls the memory of the two hours it took to remove her ski boot. Those damned Olympic Gods, from Apollo to Zeus, they must have taken a tremendous dislike to one of the most likeable athletes around. «I've so much respect for Simone in the way she spoke about her struggles, I think all athletes just appreciated her talking the way she did, it gave people a really good glimpse into what our lives are really like,» said Ormerod, now 24.

«Most athletes don't speak up, so to see her to do it was amazing. She's my favourite athlete and the best in the world. To see what she went through was really hard to watch, you could tell she was