Team GB snowboarder 'proud' of Winter Olympics debut

A Team GB snowboarder who was told she may never walk again says she is feeling proud and grateful to have competed at her first Winter Olympics.

One of 20 to be selected in Team GB's snowsport squad, 25-year-old Maisie Hill, from Cheltenham, competed in the big air and slopestyle snowboarding events at the Milan-Cortina Games.

Her debut at the games came three years after she broke multiple bones, including her spine, ribs and pelvis, when she crashed into a wall of ice during a training session.

Despite bowing out of both her events during the qualification stages, she described the experience as surreal and told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: "It's just been so amazing being here."

"It was so overwhelming in the beginning. It's so crazy being here," she added.

Hill also suffered a fractured lung, a bleed on the brain, and lost large amounts of blood due to a laceration in her liver caused by the 2023 crash, which almost claimed her life.

Hill fell on her first run while competing at the slopestyle event on Sunday, but landed all of her tricks to finish 21st overall with a score of 48.66.

"I'm actually just really happy to have landed my run yesterday in slopestyle," she said.

"It was just really cool after I didn't land my first run, I landed my second run - that feeling was just such a relief.

"I felt really proud of myself. I worked really hard," she added.

The slopestyle qualification event was scheduled to take place on Monday but was brought forward to Sunday due to weather conditions, a decision Hill understands.

"We've got a lot of snow today. It's absolutely dumping. If we would have had quali's [qualifiers] today, I don't think it would have gone down," she said.

"It wasn't the run that I wanted to do because we had a day less of training, so I wasn't fully, fully prepared," said Hill.

Hill has multiple top 10 finishes in World Cup competitions to her name, including a fifth place since returning from her crash. But she failed to clinch a spot at the big air final, with Team GB teammate Mia Brookes fighting for a medal later.

Hill said while she would have "loved to have done a little bit better" for herself, she was really proud of her teammates.

Worlds away from where she was three years ago, Hill said once she got used to the pressure of competing at the games, it was a really nice experience.

"To be coming from Cheltenham and to be out here - it's so weird but yeah, I am so grateful to be here," she added.

Looking to the future, Hill said it was not the last we have seen of her.

"I'm excited. It's not over yet," she added.

Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.