Winter Olympics 2018: Katie Ormerod will ‘come back stronger’ after injury heathbreak, says Katherine Grainger
The 20-year-old snowboarder underwent surgery on a badly broken heel on Friday but has time on her side to target the next Winter Olympics at Beijing 2022
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Your support makes all the difference.Katie Ormerod will come back stronger from the injury which has wrecked her 2018 Winter Olympics dream, according to Dame Katherine Grainger.
The 20-year-old Ormerod was undergoing surgery in Pyeongchang on Friday after suffering a severely fractured heel in a crash in snowboarding practice.
Ormerod had been hailed as one of Great Britain’s strongest medal bets in the build-up to the Games after securing a series of World Cup podiums in both slopestyle and Big Air disciplines.
Grainger, who clinched rowing gold at London 2012 and is now chair of UK Sport, said: “Only in time will it sink in what she has missed out on here – she’s much younger than me and has already had more injuries than I had in my entire career.
“If you handle these things right it can make you a better athlete – it becomes part of your character and you can be better for it.
“I know she will get past this and come back more enthused in four years’ time. She has always come back stronger from these setbacks and I’m sure she will again.”
In Ormerod’s absence, Aimee Fuller will be the only British competitor when qualifying for the women’s snowboard slopestyle competition takes place on Sunday.
Ormerod’s cousin Jamie Nicholls is due to be one of the first Britons in action at the Games when he enters men’s snowboard slopestyle qualifying with compatriot Billy Morgan in Pyeongchang on Saturday.
She wrote on Instagram to update fans about her injury, and also wish her teammates good luck ahead of the Olympics. She wrote: "Yesterday sucked! After dreaming of competing at the Olympics for years, I finally got there and received the most bad luck I’ve ever had! After breaking my wrist on the first training day I was determined to still train, compete and do my best but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. I severely broke my heel into 2 pieces so having surgery in a couple of hours to get it fixed.
"Words can’t describe how gutted I am but thank you to everyone for all your support and kind words!! Also a massive good luck to my team mates competing this weekend...you guys better kill it!
PA
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