Koyander: I will win Olympic gold

From Sportsbeat Staff, Calgary

ELLIE Koyander has set her sights on Winter Olympics gold but admits she may have to wait until 2014 to achieve it.

FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT: 18-year-old Ellie Koyander is determined to win gold at Sochi 2014
(Getty Images)

The 18-year-old is among the youngest members of the Team GB squad currently in Canada preparing for the start of the Winter Olympics.

Koyander is Great Britain's only representative in the mogul competition and will go head-to-head with the best skiers in the world when she takes to the snow of Cypress Mountain for the first time on Saturday.

And while the teen believes she can compete with the likes of Olympic champion and home favourite Jennifer Heil, she knows this week is also about gaining valuable experience ahead of the Sochi Games. 

"The average age is 24 and I'm only 18 so I'm doing really well just to be consistent and competing," she said.

"I will just be really happy to ski my best and get in to the finals. 

"I said to myself four years ago when I was 14 that I want to be in the Olympics for mogul skiing and I look at where I am today.

"This Olympics is definitely about gaining lots of experience, learning what it's about and the atmosphere.

"I'm still young and in my career span there will be five Winter Olympic opportunities, so I think that the Vancouver Olympics will prepare me for the next Games in Sochi in 2014 and my target for Sochi is gold."

Koyander, who has performed consistently during this season's World Cup circuit, is one of nine British skiers currently in Canada preparing for the start of the Games.

And despite her tender years, the skier admits getting the nod to represent her country at an Olympics represents the fulfilment of a life-long ambition.

"It's a real privilege to even come into contention as one of the top 30 elite mogul athletes in the world who have made the grade to take part in the Olympic event," she added.

"If you were to plot the development of my career on a graph, it would be a near to vertical line - every year has been a critical year.

"I can't remember a time when we haven't been working within a four-year cycle, then the particular year, month, week, day, hour, run.

"It's important to achieve your targets, I think it gives an athlete a great deal of credibility when talking about sponsorship or funding and it has been my target to reach the Olympics since I was 14."

Lloyds TSB, proud partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and supporter of Team GB on their journey to Vancouver 2010.  Visit LloydsTSB.com/London2012