Katie Ormerod will be making her return to World Cup snowboarding this weekend for the first time since breaking her heel 18 months ago.

The 21-year-old from Yorkshire was a medal hopeful in the slopestyle and big air events at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics. While training with an already broken wrist, the determined northerner fractured her heel in two places just days before the games.  

Eighteen months and seven heel operations later, Ormerod won the big air competition at the Australia New Zealand Cup and will now compete in the big air event at the Winter Games in Cardrona, New Zealand. She is the only GB Park and Pipe rider in the competition.

"I've been overwhelmed by all of the support I've had during my injury," said Ormerod, who will turn 22 on Sunday.  "Now I just want to get back to winning medals again and hopefully make everyone who's supported me proud."

Already a history-maker as the first woman to land a double cork 1090, Ormerod defied the odds again to secure two Europa Cup slopestyle podium finishes on her return last season.

She acknowledged that her competitors are making headway but is confident that she can keep up and regain her status at the top of the field.

"At the moment a lot of girls are doing individual tricks in big air but not linking them all together in slopestyle and I'm just so excited to think about getting out there and challenging the top of the podium again."

She added: "I've had a whole year to visualise new tricks and what I want to do is to link 1080s, double corks and new things all together.

The Winter Games take place in Cardona from August 22 - September 8.