FIRST career appearance at an Olympic Games ticked off, now Emily Sarsfield is relishing the chance to actually go head to head against her rivals on the snow, writes Pippa Field in PyeongChang.

Injury ruled the Durham freestyle skier out of contention for the Vancouver 2010 Games while selection politics left her out in the cold four years later in Sochi. In PyeongChang, Sarsfield has finally had the chance to pull on Team GB colours.

But her first outing was not against other skiers but against the clock as she took part in the seeding round ahead of Friday's finals rounds.

The 34-year-old was 22nd fastest out of a 24-strong field, 5.14 seconds off top seed Marielle Thompson of Canada.

All competitors advance to the 1/8 finals with Sarsfield going in the sixth heat in the early hours of Friday alongside France's X-Games bronze medallist Alizee Baron and Canadian India Sherret, who are seeded sixth and 11th respectively.

“To actually get here was an achievement. I'm stoked to be a part of Team GB,” she said.

“It's been a tough old road, to get here is amazing and then when you get to the top and you've got the Olympic rings around you, you have to zone back in and think this is what I do day in day out.

“The important thing for me was making sure I had a smile on my face at the start and the finish. I ski better when I'm having fun. And also at the end of the day, you are risking your life here and you have to make sure you're having some enjoyment as well.

“We've seen some big crashes in the men's event so to get down safe is good but Friday is a completely different race and I'm looking forward to that.

“The fun part from me is when you are racing in the heats and head to head so I'm looking forward to that.”

Watch Emily Sarsfield in the women's ski cross from 01:00am UK time, live on Eurosport Player. Don’t miss a moment of the Olympic Winter Games at Eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport app