Gillings is ranked six in the world

Isle of Man snowboarder Zoe Gillings finished fifth in the North American FIS World Cup Final in Sunday River, USA on Saturday.

The 23-year-old only missed out on the final by a hundredth of a second, despite carrying a heel injury picked up at the X-Games in January.

Talking after the event Gillings said: "I'm really happy with the result.

"I've got two competitions left this season and my aim is to win at least one of them," she added.

"I really want to be ranked in the top three in the world going into the Olympic year."

Due to persistent bad weather, the entire competition had to be run in one day, which put extra strain on Gillings' heel injury.

Gillings qualified sixth on what proved to be a technically challenging course before taking second place in her heat to secure a semi-final place.

The semi-final proved a thriller with Gillings lining up again the world's two top-ranked riders.

Despite the British number one's best efforts she came home third, a hundredth of a second behind Lindsey Jacobellis of the United States.

The result placed Gillings in the small-final which she led from start to finish to claim fifth overall.

Gillings, widely considered one of Britain's best hopes for a medal at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, is now ranked six in the world.

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