Durham ski-cross racer Emily Sarsfield to finally fulfill Winter Olympics dream in Pyeongchang

The 34-year-old from Durham was left devastated after failing to meet the qualification criteria by the narrowest of margins, and launched an unsuccessful legal challenge in a bid to convince the British Olympic Association to change their minds.

Sarsfield had already suffered qualification heartbreak in Vancouver four years previously, when a serious injury in the build-up to the Games hampered her progress, and she was overlooked in favour of Australian-born Sarah Sauvey.

But Sarsfield's name is among a list of 25 skiers and snowboarders confirmed for Pyeongchang by the BOA on Thursday, realising an ambition she admitted she had started to wonder if she would ever fulfil.

Sarsfield said: "It has obviously been a long time coming and it has been tough, but I think the experience has really shaped me as an athlete.

"I got a huge injury just before the Vancouver Games and a surgeon basically told me I would never ski again. Then I came back from all that and there was all the red tape surrounding Sochi.

"I feel like I've earned this opportunity. I've grafted plenty of blood, sweat and tears, especially four years ago, but I've come through it all and I can't wait to go out and try to make Britain proud."