TeamGB blow for skier Emily

BRITISH Olympics officials have refused to think again about their decision to leave the UK’s No1 ski-cross racer Emily Sarsfield out of the team for the Winter Olympics at Sochi.

Emily, 30, who lives in Méribel where she trains with the French ski team, said she was refused a TeamGB place after finishing two spots outside the world’s top 32 athletes – although two days after the list was published she was inside the top 32 due to other racers dropping out.

TeamGB’s Dave Edwards, the chief executive officer of British Ski and Snowboard, said Emily “failed to reach the Olympic qualification standards”.

The decision not to accept one of the places has left Emily, who gets no funding for her sport, numb. Other top racers could not believe she would not be racing against them and she has received support from many.

She said: “It’s devastating. The International Ski Federation has offered me a place but TeamGB has refused to accept it because it is not an automatic qualification.

“Other countries have snapped up these extra places and people lower-placed than I was are going. They are just desperate to have someone representing their country – and I am missing out just because I am British. The French cannot believe it!

“I race against these other athletes all the time. I know I can do well but no one on the selection committee knows my sport and they have this blanket restriction on qualification. Anything can happen in ski-cross [which is like a downhill ski version of motocross] and I would have been in with a chance.

“This policy hurts the UK – which is not an Alpine country – and this would have put the sport in the public eye.”

She added that other racers in Méribel were even talking of taking a cardboard cut-out of her with them as they thought she had been badly treated. An online petition of support has already drawn nearly 7,000 signatures.

Norway’s 2010 Olympic silver medallist Hedda Berntsen, who will not be at Sochi because of a lung infection, backed Emily saying it was “very strange not to send every athlete in the top 32. In ski cross anything can happen. The sport needs the best skiers for the quality of the competition.”

British skiers from the aerial ski team have joined the chorus of complaint and said that their sport earned two “handback” places at Sochi which TeamGB refused.

TeamGB’s Mr Edwards said “my heartfelt reaction is one of huge disappointment and heartfelt sympathy. I have nothing but admiration for Emily.”

But he added that the qualification criteria were published 18 months ago and Emily was well aware of what ranking she needed: “She failed to reach those standards. She was clearly at that level in the world championships last year and needed to maintain that position but unfortunately her recent form has not enabled her to do that. The criteria are set so that people we send to the Games will produce a credible result.

“There is no changing the qualification at this late stage.”