It’s Crystal clear that Katie’s the best in the world
BRIGHOUSE’S Katie Ormerod has become the first British snowboarder to win a World Cup title after the International Ski Federation (FIS) announced the postponement of the final event because of concerns over the coronavirus.
The 22-year-old has made the podium in all four of this year’s women’s slopestyle events and went top of the overall standings with her third third-place finish at Calgary last month.
And Ormerod – whose best result was a runners-up spot in Seiser Alm, Italy, in January – will collect the
Crystal Globe awarded to World Cup winners after attempts to replace the season’s final event proved unsuccessful.
It marks a successful first full season back for Ormerod, who was among the favourites in the women’s slopestyle at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics only to break her heel on the eve of the competition, ruling her out for 18 months.
The Huddersfield Town fan said: “My comeback season has turned out to be the best season of my career so far and it’s been so much fun.
“So happy to finish this season with five World Cup podiums, three yellow bibs and my first ever overall World Cup Slopestyle title and Crystal Globe!”
Ormerod becomes the first female and second overall British recipient of a World Cup title, with James Woods having come out on top in the men’s ski slopestyle competition seven years ago. Vicky Gosling, chief executive officer of GB Snowsport, said: “Katie has made a phenomenal return to competitive snowboarding this season and has performed amazingly well.
“We are so proud of Katie’s resilience and determination to succeed and we are so excited for the future. This is GB Snowsport’s second ever Crystal Globe – first in snowboarding- and it just goes to show how far the organisation has come in terms of competitive podiums in the last 18 months.”
A date for the formal presentation of the Crystal Globe will be announced by the FIS soon.