Dad's pride in Olympic skier daughter Zoe Atkin

The father of Winter Olympics freestyle skier Zoe Atkin has said he hopes his daughter will "focus less and worry less" about the pressure and expectations put on her.

Although Atkin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in the US, she holds British citizenship, as her father, Mike, is from Solihull and represents Team GB at the Games.

She is the current world champion in the freestyle halfpipe, having won gold at the world championships in Switzerland.

Mr Atkin said he was proud of his daughter's efforts so far in the competition and added: "She is nervous because this is a very big event, but we've always kept our expectations modest."

"We say, 'Just ski well; do try and put down a run you can be proud of,'" he said.

Despite being raised in the US, Atkin said it was important for his daughter to visit the West Midlands.

"The family spent a decent amount of time in the UK, and that always meant being in the West Midlands while my parents were alive at their house.

"Solihull was sort of the centre of family activity over in the UK."

Last December, the 23-year-old narrowly missed out on gold at the freeski halfpipe World Cup event in China. She took home silver.

Atkin will be in action in the women's freeski halfpipe, with her heat beginning at about 18:30 GMT on Thursday.

"She's had a good run; these past 12 months have really been some of her best results, some of her best skiing.

"She's skiing very well, and she's trying to focus on that," he added.

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