Marathon Runner Yamauchi Considers Switch to Skiing

Mara Yamauchi, the British marathon runner who finished sixth at the Olympic Games in Beijing, is contemplating switching sports after London 2012 to become a cross-country skier. Yamauchi could follow the lead of Rebecca Romero, who won an Olympic cycling gold this summer having won silver in rowing in Athens in 2004. The 35-year-old Yamauchi may aim to compete at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia in 2014.

She said yesterday: "I thought about taking it up for a number of reasons: cross-country skiing is an endurance sport, Britain does not have such a strong tradition in winter Olympics, and UK Sport is putting a lot of effort into athletes switching sports. It is an idea. If I was thinking about the Olympic Games, it would be 2014, but it is only a consideration because I do not know if it would be realistic." Yamauchi's next marathon will be in London in April.