A DONSIDE cross country skier has been selected to represent Great Britain at this month's Winter Olympics.
Andrew Musgrave, 19, from Oyne near Insch was delighted to be called up to Team GB for the prestigious event which starts in Vancouver on February 12.
Andrew said: "I'm looking forward to the Games. I think it is going to be a good experience a
nd I'm hoping I will learn a lot from it.
"I'm very excited about being selected and I'm hoping to get a best performance at a major tournament and try to compete against the best in the world.
"For the last couple of years getting to Vancouver has been a very big goal for me. Because I'm so young I didn't feel it was that likely but I managed to push up the world rankings this season and qualified. There were several different criteria for qualification but mainly it's to do with world ranking."
Andrew, a member of the Huntly Nordic Ski Club, spent his primary school years living in Alaska between the age of six and 11.
His older brother Ben skied for Alaska and Andrew has showed similar potential since taking up the sport at the age of five. By the time he was eight-years-old he was already competing in local races.
In 2008, Andrew was part of the first GB team to compete in a senior World Cup race for 14 years.
He said: "I like skiing because of the challenge it offers. It is a very demanding sport, and when you do well, it can be very satisfying. It also lets me travel to new places and meet new people."
Andrew has been training full time in Norway this season in preparation for Vancouver. He is currently the world number three in his age group for distance events.
He is a member of the Highland Institute of Sport and will be joined in the GB team by fellow Huntly Nordic Ski Club member Andrew Young.
