Team GB athletes in Pyeongchang

From the snowy ski slopes to the twists and turns of the bobsleigh tracks, these British athletes are all hoping for glory at the Winter Olympics. 

These determined young women are among the Team GB delegation that will be representing the nation when the competition starts in Pyeongchang on Friday.  

Speaking to FEMAIL, four-time Olympic skier Chemmy Alcott said this it is the most talented Team GB Winter Olympics team that has ever been put together.

She said: ‘Historically there has always been one athlete that has been pinpointed for success but this time we have many athletes across a huge number of sports.’

Alcott, who will be part of the BBC’s commentating team, said Scottish speed skater Elise Christie, 27, and snowboarder Katie Ormerod, 20, from Brighouse, West Yorkshire, were among the athletes set to shine. 

Here, FEMAIL introduces some of the British Olympians to watch out for in South Korea… 

Rowan Cheshire, 21, Ski Halfpipe 

Skiing sensation: Rowan Cheshire, 21, from Stoke-on-Trent, is hopeful for a historic medal

On the slopes: Cheshire first started skiing aged 10 and has since become an international star

On the slopes: Cheshire first started skiing aged 10 and has since become an international star

Rowan Cheshire, 21, from Stoke-on-Trent, was introduced to skiing aged 10 when her father took her to a local dry ski slope. 

Speaking to Vogue.co.uk, Cheshire told how she was left in awe of children doing freestyle skiing so her father enrolled her into a freestyle ski camp. 

She now competes for Team GB in the freestyle ski discipline called halfpipe. 

The sport sees skiers produce hair-raising tricks off the edge of an icy, steep-walled half cylinder. They have to impress the judges with their tricks that include somersaults, flips, grabs and twists.

Fearless: Cheshire, pictured, burst onto the international scene in 2014, when she became the first British woman to win a halfpipe gold medal at World Cup level at only 18

Rowan Cheshire

Fearless: Cheshire, pictured, burst onto the international scene in 2014, when she became the first British woman to win a halfpipe gold medal at World Cup level at only 18

Airborne: Cheshire at the Freestyle Ski & Snowboard World Championships in Spain in 2017

Airborne: Cheshire at the Freestyle Ski & Snowboard World Championships in Spain in 2017

Cheshire burst onto the international scene in 2014, when she became the first British woman to win a halfpipe gold medal at World Cup level at only 18.

She was a strong medal contender for the Winter Olympics in Sochi 2014 but a fall during training just a few days before the competition left her with a concussion and she was forced to retire.

Cheshire worked briefly as a model before focusing on an Olympic return. She now hopes to become the first ever British female to win an Olympic skiing medal.

Katie Ormerod, 20, Snowboard

Injury: Snowboarder Katie Ormerod, pictured, broke her wrist during a practice run today 

Injury: Snowboarder Katie Ormerod, pictured, broke her wrist during a practice run today 

Determined: The 20-year-old, pictured in Pyeongchang today, still plans to compete

Determined: The 20-year-old, pictured in Pyeongchang today, still plans to compete

Katie Ormerod, from Brighouse, West Yorkshire, started skiing aged three and began snowboarding two years later at a dry ski slope in nearby Halifax. 

She also competed in gymnastics at a county level as a schoolgirl, which helped build the muscular strength and spacial awareness that is essential on the slopes.  

At 15, Katie became the youngest girl to land a Double backflip on a Snowboard and at the age of 16 did the World’s first female Backside Double Cork 1080. 

Romance on the slopes: Ormerod is believed to be dating fellow snowboarder Lachie Good

Romance on the slopes: Ormerod is believed to be dating fellow snowboarder Lachie Good

Medal dreams: Katie Ormerod during a practice session in South Korea today

Medal dreams: Katie Ormerod during a practice session in South Korea today

The 20-year-old now has her sights set on the podium in PyeongChang, although she suffered a setback when she broke her wrist in training on Wednesday. 

Despite the injury Ormerod expects to be fit for slopestyle qualification on Sunday, ahead of Monday’s final. The Big Air event begins on February 19.

Katie is dating fellow snowboarder and instructor Lachie Good.   

Mica Moore, 24, and Mica McNeill, 24, Bobsleigh

Mica Moore,

Mica McNeill,

Teamwork: Mica Moore, 24, left, and Mica McNeill, 24, right, will compete in the bobsleigh

Dynamic duo: McNeill is the pilot of the team while Moore is the brakewoman

Dynamic duo: McNeill is the pilot of the team while Moore is the brakewoman

Athletes Mica Moore and Mica McNeill are hoping for Olympic success but have had a turbulent road to PyeongChang.

McNeill, from County Durham, is the pilot of the team while Moore, from Newport, is the brakewoman.

The pair won gold at the Junior Bobsleigh World Championships early in 2017 but had their funding cut by the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association in September.  

The move, which took place just before the start of the sport’s winter season, forced McNeill to launch a crowdfunding campaign to raise £30,000 to allow them to compete in the World Cup, which acts as a ranking competition for the Olympics. 

Powered by the people: Moore, pictured, and McNeill had to crowdfund after funding was cut

Powered by the people: Moore, pictured, and McNeill had to crowdfund after funding was cut

McNeill wrote at the time: ‘I have worked incredibly hard and made many sacrifices. I have even bought my own bobsleigh so that I can achieve my dreams and due to circumstances out of my control, I’m now looking to raise the £30,000 so Team McNeill can represent GB this winter.’

Following the campaign’s success – and the team’s performance in the World Cup – the BBSA restructured their organisation and found some money.

 McNeill’s team are now ranked 12th in the world. The two men’s GB teams to feature in Pyeongchang are ranked 11th and 12th.

Elise Christie, 27, Speed skating

Golden girl: Elise Christie is making her third Winter Olympics appearance in Pyeongchang

Golden girl: Elise Christie is making her third Winter Olympics appearance in Pyeongchang

Painful journey: The skater, pictured in South Korea today, was disqualified from Sochi 2014

Painful journey: The skater, pictured in South Korea today, was disqualified from Sochi 2014

Scottish speed skater Elise Christie is making her third Winter Olympics appearance in Pyeongchang. 

Regarded by many as Team GB’s strongest medal hope, Christie, from Livingstone, was crowned a triple world champion last year after winning 1000m, 1500m and overall titles. And her form is only getting better. 

As Alcott told FEMAIL: ‘Everyone deserves to do their best and her best right now is an Olympic gold medal.’

Many expect Christie could even bring home multiple medals. 

Medal hopes: Insiders believe Christie could take home multiple medals in Pyeongchang

Medal hopes: Insiders believe Christie could take home multiple medals in Pyeongchang

The victories would make up for a painful trip to Sochi, which saw her medal hopes dashed amid a triple disqualification.

As if the pain of being out of the competition wasn’t enough, Christie was then targeted by cruel trolls who tormented her online.

Now though she’s hoping to make up for the loss with a dazzling performance. 

Speed skating is the national sport of South Korea so she has not only got the home athletes to beat but everyone behind them as well.  



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