Winter Olympics 2018: The bizarre story of Elizabeth Swaney, the worst skier at the Pyeongchang Games

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Qualification for the Olympics involves achieving a certain number of top-30 World Cup finishes, and Swaney ensured she achieved 13 of them by simply turning up and competing at events where there were fewer than 30 athletes competing. At last December’s World Cup in China, a depleted field allowed Swaney to finish 13th out of 15 competitors due to the sport’s biggest names competing at the Grand Prix at Copper Mountain and the Dew Tour at Breckenridge. “Maybe perhaps I’m the bridge to those who want to get started in the life of freestyle skiing and I want to show people that, yeah, it’s possible to get involved in freestyle skiing through a variety of backgrounds.” open image in gallery Swaney completed jump after jump without performing a trick in the ski halfpipe But she could be the first and last to exploit the qualification system in such a way. FIS ski halfpipe judge Steele Spence has confirmed that plans are already in place to alter the qualification process, and while Swaney would not have made the Games had she crashed, the bar set for athletes to compete at the Winter Olympics looks set to be raised.