Swansea Snowboarder Luca Mai Lane-Hopkins Freestyles Her Way Into Team GB

Swansea’s Luca Mai Lane-Hopkins is among 27 athletes selected to represent Team GB at the Sarajevo 2019 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival from 9-16 February.

One of five teenagers given support by the British Ski and Snowboard National Foundation two years ago, Lane-Hopkins has already represented the UK at the World Junior Snowboard Championships and the World Rookie Tour finals.

Although she started snowboarding when she was five, she only turned to freestyle two years ago.

The 16-year-old has made rapid progress since then and will join Ethan Smith, Gabe Adams, Lara Cabrera-Myram, Leon Drynan and Lewis Moore in the snowboard squad.

Already Chemmy Alcott and Katie Summerhayes have graduated from youth events to represent Team GB at an Olympic Winter Games and Sarajevo 2019 will be the 14th edition of the EYOF. Around 1,500 athletes from 50 European countries will take part.

Lane-Hopkins will get the chance to rub shoulders with Britain’s most successful Winter Olympian as double Olympic gold medal-winning slider Lizzy Yarnold is taking on the role of the Athlete Ambassador for the team’s pre-Games assembly.

“I hope I can use my experience of competing for Team GB at the Winter Olympics to help the members of our team make the most out of their first Team GB experience,” said Yarnold.

“There has never been a more exciting time to be involved in British winter sport, so I hope the athletes can grasp this incredible opportunity to further themselves as sportspeople and as individuals.”

Team GB will have athletes competing in seven of the eight disciplines, with athletes participating in a mixture of alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, short track speed skating and snowboarding.

The team consists of athletes aged between 15 and 18, with the EYOF playing a crucial role in the development of young athletes from across the United Kingdom and Europe. The competition will provide athletes with their first multi-sport experience.

“The European Youth Olympic Festivals are fantastic opportunities for our young winter athletes to experience life in a multi-sport Games for the first time and test themselves against the best young athletes in Europe,” said Lewis Coggins, Team GB’s Chef de Mission.

“To be involved in seven out of the eight sports on offer shows the continuing progression of winter sports in the UK and I hope this opportunity will help athletes to develop as well as act as a positive springboard for their future careers.”