Sheffield freestyle skier Katie Summerhayes makes third consecutive Winter Olympic final at Beijing 2022

Sheffield free skier Katie Summerhayes has made a third consecutive Winter Olympic final - but just hopes it's not another seventh place.
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The 26-year-old from Mosborough narrowly missed out on a place in the Big Air final last week when she finished thirteenth in qualifying, with only the top 12 progressing.

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That left her with a frustrated watching brief, cheering on team-mate and friend Kirsty Muir to her fifth-place finish.

Katie Summerhayes of Team Great Britain performs a trick during the Women's Freestyle Skiing Freeski Slopestyle Qualification on Day 10 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park on February 14, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China (photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)Katie Summerhayes of Team Great Britain performs a trick during the Women's Freestyle Skiing Freeski Slopestyle Qualification on Day 10 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park on February 14, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China (photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Katie Summerhayes of Team Great Britain performs a trick during the Women's Freestyle Skiing Freeski Slopestyle Qualification on Day 10 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park on February 14, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China (photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
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But Summerhayes was much improved in her preferred slopestyle event on Monday, finishing tenth in qualifying to reach another final, with seventh place finishes on her resume from Sochi and PyeongChang.

"I’m pretty happy," she said ahead of Tuesday’s final.

"Obviously, I just squeaked through, it’s nice no matter what place you qualify, just so long as the final goes well, that's all that matters.

“I’m pretty stoked to get another chance at the Olympics.

"I actually thought my first run was pretty bad. I landed sideways on a jump so that’s not good and there were a couple of mistakes in both of the runs.

“It’s quite nice going forward to the final knowing that I can clean both runs up. I’m pretty pumped, it’s given me a little bit of confidence as well.”

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Estonia's Kelly Sildaru was the top qualifier followed by Norway's Johanne Killi and China' s Big Air gold medallist Eileen Gu. And Team GB's Muir - at 17 the youngest member of the team in China - ranked sixth.

Twenty-four hours after the event was supposed to take place, having been delayed due to a heavy blizzard at Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park, Summerhayes insisted the delay hadn't caused any concerns.

"Those conditions were really tough so I appreciated the delay, you don't want to compete in weather like that," she added.

Muir is also delighted she'll be joined for her second final of the Games but a skier who she has long looked up to.

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"Katie has so much experience and was so welcoming to me when I came in the team," she said.

"Having Katie beside me will make it even more special."

James Woods from Crosspool will also be in action on Tuesday when he competes in the men’s slopestyle qualifying.

Watch All the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 live on discovery+, Eurosport and Eurosport app

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