Britain has only ever previously sent one cross country skier to the Winter Olympics: Andrew Musgrave, who competed in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. This year four athletes will attend Sochi 2014, including Andrew and his older sister Rosamund ‘Posy’ Musgrave.

Two skiing techniques are used in cross country skiing: classis, which is a back and forth motion skiing along pre-set parallel tracks, and freestyle, which is a side to side motion which resembles the motion of ice skating or rollerblading.

Name: Callum Smith
Age: 21
Event: Cross Country Skiing
Born: Bristol
Callum has taken a year out from studying Chemical Engineering at Edinburgh University to focus on his preparations for Sochi, which he qualified for in December.
One of Callum’s career highlights is finishing second in the small nations qualification race in the 2011 World Championships. He went on to compete in the sprint, 15km time trial, team sprint and the relay.

Name: Andrew Musgrave
Age: 23
Event: Cross Country Skiing
Born: Poole, Dorset
Andrew made his Olympic debut at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, where he placed 51st in the 30km pursuit, 55th in the 15km individual freestyle race and 58th in the individual sprint.
He is the first British skier to have finished in the top ten of a world-class cross-country event, placing ninth in the 2008 World Junior Championships in France. His best World Cup finish was in February 2013 when he placed 18th in sprint, at a Sochi test event. Andrew also won the Norwegian national sprint race in January 2014, beating a field full of Norway’s own Olympic medal prospects.

Name: Andrew Young
Age: 21
Event: Cross Country Skiing
Born: Huntly, Aberdeenshire
Andrew Placed 60th in the individual sprint and 74th in the 15km individual freestyle events during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
He was the youngest male skier ever to start a World Cup race when he placed 77th in 2008 at the age of 16. Andrew has progressed into the U23 ranks, where he has secured three top 30 places at the World Championships.

Name: Rosamund Musgrave
Age: 27
Event: Cross Country Skiing
Born: Oyne, Aberdeenshire
Rosamund “Posy” Musgrave will mark her Olympic debut at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. She will be the sole female Team GB cross-country representative.
Currently ranked as the top female sprinter in the UK, Rosamund’s first international competition was in 2009 at the World University Games. She has since competed at the World Championships in 2011 and 2013.