By Anna Thompson Winter sports editor

Gillings on the podium after winning in Chile

It took Gillings just two World Cup races to reach the standard set down for the 2006 Games.

Gillings, from the Isle of Man, won the first race of the World Cup season in Chile and finished second in the next.

She said: "I was over the moon to win and I am capable of a lot more - even a podium at the Olympics!"

Gillings finished eighth in the World Cup standings last season and won the British title.

I am overwhelmed by the progress Zoe has made in the last two years and am confident she is now ready to perform at the 2006 Winter Olympics Coach Craig Smith Gillings wins World Cup race

She needed either two top 20 results in World Cup events or a top 15 and 120 International Ski Federation points this season to satisfy international criteria for Turin.

Her coach Craig Smith said: "I am overwhelmed by the progress Zoe has made in the last two years and am confident she is now ready to perform at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

"Zoe has progressed from a World Cup competitor to a world class athlete."

Snowboarder-cross is similar to motorX in that competitors race over bumps and around corners in a series of knock-out races.

A spokesman for the British Olympic Association said although an international standard had been reached, Gillings does not automatically qualify for Games.

The spokesman told BBC Sport: "The British Olympic Association and Snowsport GB have yet to sit down and sort out the official qualifying standard for the 2006 Winter Olympics.

"Although it is highly commendable what Zoe has done so far, it is too early to say she has been selected for the Olympics."