ESSEX skiing talent Sophie Hughes tasted success at the English Alpine Championships on Wednesday with a third-place finish in the Under-14s slalom.

Hughes is just 13 years old but has a bright future in alpine skiing and lived up to that billing at the Championships, being held in Bormio, Italy, with a confident performance.

The youngster, who hails from Colchester, missed out on second by just nine hundredths of a second at the annual event, sponsored by Rossignol, which sees the next generation of British stars get their chance to impress.

“I’m very excited to get onto the podium because I don’t usually get there on snow,” said Hughes, who skis for Kandahar Racing. “It’s been great to finally podium this season.

“It’s a shame they’ve delayed the podiums until Thursday but I can look forward to it I guess!

“I loved the first course here, in fact, both courses were good, they were both fast which I always like.

“It’s just been good to have really nice snow and conditions here, I’ve loved it.

“My season’s been going alright so far, I podiumed in the Anglo-Scottish but then my last competition, the Welsh, I skied out both runs so this has been great to help me get over that!”

Hughes will now compete to get onto the podium once more on Thursday, as she takes on the field in the giant slalom.

PLEASE LEAVE IN FINAL PAR: Inspired by the performances at the 2018 English Alpine Championships and PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games? Find out more on how to get involved in skiing and snowboarding through Snowsport England's national grassroots participation campaign at www.goskigoboard.org.uk