Katie Ormerod "so proud" to make Beijing despite missing Big Air final

Katie Ormerod walked away with her head held high despite failing to qualify for the snowboard Big Air final at Beijing 2022.

The Team GB athlete finished 25th in qualification at Big Air Shougang on her Olympic Winter Games debut and also missed out on the Slopestyle final.

Beijing had been a long-awaited Games bow for Ormerod who was forced to pull out on the eve of PyeongChang 2018 through injury.

The 24-year-old underwent seven surgeries after snapping her heel in two, and only returned to competition in August 2019 at the New Zealand Winter Games.

Given all she had encountered, Ormerod took pride in her achievement and how far she has come since 2018.

She told Olympics.com: “I’m so proud of everything I’ve achieved over the last four years. Being here, I’ve had to work so hard.

"Four years ago I didn’t know if I would be able to snowboard again. The fact that I’m now here competing at an Olympics is a dream come true."

Ormerod has been plagued by injury since making her World Championship debut in 2013 in Stoneham, Canada, where she finished 10th.

A possible place on Team GB for Sochi 2014 beckoned, but the then-15-year-old sustained a knee injury early that year which ruled her out of contention.

Months later in May, Ormerod injured her knee once more requiring it to be rebuilt along with Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) reconstruction and five months of intense rehabilitation.

She got back on a board in April 2015 and competed at the 2015/2016 World Cup where she ended the season ranked third in Big Air and fifth in Slopestyle.

The injury curse struck again in 2017 when Ormerod sustained a minor vertebra fracture after crashing during training in Sierra Nevada, Spain prior to the World Championships.

The British a