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Thank you, Katie

Katie Summerhayes, one of Britain’s leading Freestyle skiers and best loved snowsport athletes, confirmed her retirement last week at the age of 27 after more than a decade representing the nation.

Katie, who made her World Championships debut in 2011, departs the sport as a three-time Winter Olympian, the first female British skier to win a Freestyle World Championships medal, and a fixture at the top of the sport for more than a decade.

A World Championships debutant in 2011, Katie delivered major podium moments throughout her career, including a first World Cup podium with silver in Silvaplana in 2013, bronze and gold at successive World Junior Ski Championships in 2013 and 2014, a history-making silver at World Championships in Kreischberg in 2015, and a final World Cup podium in Stubai in 2017. Katie’s last competitive performance in March 2022 saw her come so close to one more podium with a brilliant World Cup fourth place at the site of her first ever World Cup podium in Silvaplana.

Over the course of her career, Katie competed alongside some of Britain’s greatest ever Freestyle athletes, including her sister Molly, a fellow Olympian at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang. In doing so, Katie swiftly became one of the most popular and respected members of the British Freestyle scene, known both for her ability on the snow, and her positivity and warmth around the camp.

GB Snowsport Head Coach, Pat Sharples, paid tribute to Katie, saying:

“Katie is an absolute legend of British Freestyle skiing. She’s a history maker and one of the best skiers this country has ever produced but, more than that, she’s an amazing person who’s done so much for the sport and for the team all the way through her career.

“I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Katie grow as an athlete and as a person, and you couldn’t wish for a better athlete on the team; we’ll really miss having her around camp. What Katie’s achieved will mean she’s remembered forever in the sport as one of Britain’s finest.”

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Everyone at GB Snowsport wishes Katie well in her retirement.

Katie Summerhayes – Career Highlights

• February 2011 – Makes first World Championships appearance at Park City, USA, finishing 11^th in Slopestyle and 14^th in Halfpipe
• January 2012 – Comes fifth representing Team GB at Youth Olympic Winter Games in Kuehtai, Austria
• March 2012 – Top-10 on World Cup debut in Mammoth Mountain
• February 2013 – First World Cup podium taking silver in Silvaplana
• March 2013 – Comes so close to World Championships podium, finishing fourth in Voss-Myrkdalen, Norway
• March 2013 – Takes podium at World Junior Ski Championships in Chiesa, Italy, with Slopestyle bronze
• February 2014 – Competes for Team GB at Olympic Winter Games for the first time, finishing seventh in Slopestyle in Sochi
• March 2014 – Returns to World Junior Ski Championships in Chiesa, Italy, taking gold
• January 2015 – Becomes Britain’s first female Freestyle Skiing World Championships medalist with silver in Kreischberg World Championships
• February 2018 – Selected for second Olympic Winter Games, finishing seventh in PyeongChang
• March 2021 – Makes fourth appearance at World Championships, competing in both Slopestyle and Big Air in Aspen, USA
• February 2022 – Finishes 13^th in Big Air and ninth in Slopestyle in Beijing Olympic Winter Games
• March 2022 – Finishes fourth in final World Cup appearance in Silvaplana