AN East Devon woman has won gold in the British Snowboard Championships.
Katie Blundell, a former Woodbury Primary School pupil, Exmouth Community College and Exeter College student, has made a name for herself in the world's snowboard scene.
Out of 17 competitors, the 28-year-old made it through to the final of the Slopestyle element of the competition held in the French Alps resort of Tignes this month, and then clinched the top spot.
Slopestyle is a course of jumps and rails. Competitors put together a run through the terrain park to showcase their best tricks. Runs are judged on difficulty, style, execution and overall impression.
Katie and the other competitors had just two runs in wind, snow and poor visibility to show-off to the judging panel.
The Nottingham Trent textiles design graduate has previously come second in the Slopestyle in 2011 and first in Big Air competition in 2010.
"I had just flown in from snowboarding in Breckenridge, America, so was pretty jet lagged," she said. "Unfortunately the day of the competition was really bad weather – snowy, windy and terrible visibility. They decided to run the contest anyway but cut down the course so it was only one jump and two rails.
"All 17 of us got two runs each and it was the best run which counted. The snow was hammering it down and it was so difficult to put a run together."
Since graduating Katie has been travelling the world pursuing her love of the sport, doing five back-to-back winter seasons in New Zealand, Australia, America, France and Austria.
Katie was one of six to compete in the final of the competition. She said: "I somehow managed to qualify in first, just sheer luck I think. Then it was the final, the weather had closed in even more, but we each took two more runs with the best run counting again. I managed to land both my runs and finished in first place."
