PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (Reuters) - British snowboarding hope Katie Ormerod was ruled out of the Pyeongchang Olympics on Thursday after fracturing her wrist and heel in training falls.
The British Olympic Association (BOA) said in a statement that the 20-year-old had suffered a severe fracture to her right heel bone in a fall on Thursday and would undergo emergency surgery.
She fractured her wrist after slipping off a rail in training on Wednesday.
Ormerod was due to compete in snowboard slopestyle and big air and was one of Britain's small band of medal hopes for the Games that start on Friday.
"We are all devastated for Katie who was in strong form coming into the Olympics. She is a talented athlete and wonderful role model," said British ski and snowboard performance director Dan Hunt.
Ormerod last year became the first Briton to win a World Cup big air title. She was also third in slopestyle at the 2016 X Games in Aspen.
Britain has set a 'best ever' target of at least five medals from Pyeongchang after more than doubling funding since Sochi four years ago.
Britain won four medals in Sochi, the country's best haul since 1924.