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Alcott's Olympic hopes hanging in the balance

ESPN staff
January 19, 2014
Chemmy Alcott's Winter Olympics hopes are hanging in the balance © Getty Images
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British skier Chemmy Alcott's hopes of a fourth consecutive Winter Games appearance have been damaged after heavy snow caused her comeback race to be cancelled.

With Great Britain's Winter Olympic team for next month's Games in Sochi due to be announced on Wednesday, Alcott needed to prove her race-fitness in order to be considered.

Alcott suffered a broken leg in August 2012 and only returned to training in December. The 31-year-old previously suffered a serious compound fracture in December 2010.

She was due to compete in the Cortina World Cup in Italy on Saturday but adverse weather conditions saw the race postponed for 24 hours until Sunday, before it was cancelled again.

The Cortina World Cup is the final Olympic qualifying event before the Games get underway in February.

"They [the race officials] won't do anything until the team captains meet on Tuesday afternoon," Alcott told BBC Sport. "They would need 15 hours of blue skies before the piste is ready for a World Cup race."

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