SUPER snowboarder Katie Ormerod came second in the European Open.

The Brighouse girl’s success came in the European Open 2011 held in Laax, Switzerland.

The 13-year-old came second in the Slopestyle Girls and fifth in the Halfpipe Girls.

It means Katie, a Hipperholme Grammar School pupil, is now ranked second in Europe.

And she has her sights on Olympic glory after being taken under the wing of Lesley McKenna, a professional snowboarder who competed in three Winter Olympic Games in 2002, 2006 and 2010.

Katie’s proud mum Claire said: “She spent four weeks in Colorado before Christmas and she just loved it.

“She’s been taken on by Roxy –a sports clothing company – and they took her away for the training camp.

“I think aiming for the Olympics is the route she wants to take. She is part of the Great Britain junior team as well and she’s dedicated to it so much.

“But she’s as dedicated to her school work too. In Colorado she’d spend the day training then school sent her work to do in the evening.”

The competition, sponsored by Burton, took place last weekend and Katie faced tough competition against competitors from Europe and the USA.

She earned her second place with a run consisting of a ‘Nollie Frontflip’, a ‘Half Cab’ and ‘Back 3’s’.

She ranked first among Europeans given that first place went to Katie’s team mate, Ty Walker from America.

Competition was incredibly high in the Halfpipe competition and Katie scored an impressive 70 which put her among the winning scores.

Her rank of fifth place was a great achievement given that Katie does not often practice Halfpipe.

Katie splits her time between snowboarding and being a keen gymnast.

Mum Claire added: “She loves them both and when she was in Colorado she’d be snowboarding but they had trampolines for her to practice on too.

“The gymnastics helps the snowboarding really.”

Her potential was spotted aged six when she first hit the slopes on a snowboard during a family holiday.

Claire and Katie’s dad Mark both love the snow and younger brother Harvey follows in her footsteps.