Natalia Harte is ready to put a nightmare year behind her and set her sights on representing Great Britain at the 2014 Winter Olympics, writes Andrew Gidley.

The 18-year-old skier from Canterbury is back on the slopes after rupturing her left knee 12 months ago in a fall at a giant slalom race at Pila in Italy, costing her the chance of a bursary from the British Ski and Snowboard Association in the process.

She said: "I applied to help fund my training in Austria with the British Junior Alpine Girls’ Team for the winter season, but they turned me down saying I needed to prove my injury has not affected my performance in races.

"However, they made the decision with no knowledge about me and did not ask for any information."

Former England rugby international Dr Jonathan Webb carried out the operation to reconstruct Natalia’s knee at his London clinic last June, which needed nearly six months rehabilitation, helped by physio Fiona Errington at Kent County Cricket Club and Invicta East Kent athletics coach June Plews.

However, the time was well spent as Natalia sat her International Bacculaureate, achieving a full diploma.

She added: "I trained in December at Tignes in France with my dad Martin, who coaches me, and my younger sister Giulia, who is in the British Children’s Alpine Ski squad to start my rehab on skis.

"All went well and I was ready to race again in January and after only two weeks on snow, I was first British girl and second international in my category in the Giant Slalom. I was winning in the Slalom as well but messed up on my second run which cost me a place on the podium."

Picture: sports photographers.eu/Mitch Gunn