Winter Olympic ambitions for teenage skier ahead of European championship
A teenager skier from Staffordshire has revealed her Olympic ambitions ahead of participating in the English junior championships.
Georgia Blaikie and her 15-year-old sister Elena are heading to Bormio in Italy for the biggest junior open Alpine competition on the calendar.
The Stafford Grammar School siblings will spend a week training alongside fellow members of the British Ski Academy, before challenging the best in Europe across three race disciplines.
The 13-year-old said: "It will be our first time in Bormio so we need to get used to the steepness and width of the slopes.
"You wouldn’t want to compete without having skied there before.
"The championships will be incredibly tough. There will be some fantastic competitors who ski faster than me, but with the right training and determination I can try to get up with them.
"Only a few seconds separates us, but in skiing that can make all the difference."
Elena and Georgia will compete in the slalom, giant slalom and Super-G, at under-16 and under-14 respectively.
The high-profile event follows hot on the heels of the Anglo-Scottish contest in Italy, in which Georgia chalked-up a career high.
She said: "My best chance will be in the giant slalom, but I’m also looking forward to the Super-G.
"I’d never raced in a Super-G before Pila, but it was my favourite.
"I guess I just like skiing fast downhill as it’s so exhilarating and once you leave the start gate, you forget how dangerous it is."
While the Stafford schoolgirl focuses on the task in hand, she is also keeping a close eye on performances at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
She said: "Although I love participating, I also enjoy watching and will be glued to the tv.
"My dream is to make it up there to the Olympics. I want to take my ski racing to that level and after that go on to become a ski coach.
"This is what I enjoy doing and it’s what I want to do in future."
