James Woods wins slopestyle silver at ski World Championships

James Woods has won Great Britain's first freestyle skiing medal at a World Championships in 20 years after winning slopestyle silver in Norway.

The 21-year-old was given a score of 91.2 to place him second behind American Thomas Wallisch.

In the women's event, Britain's Katie Summerhayes finished outside the medals in fourth place with a score of 72.2.

Slopestyle where snowboarders and skiers are judged on tricks, will be a new event at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

"I'm absolutely thrilled," Woods told BBC Sport.

"To do those tricks you have to be really bang on, and I feel like my second run was pretty close to it."

The bronze medal in the men's event was taken by American Nicholas Goepper in Voss-Myrkdalen.

The women's gold medal was won by Canadian Kaya Turski, who scored 89.6, with compatriot Dara Howell taking silver and American Grete Eliassen collecting bronze.

Summerhayes, who describes Woods as her best friend, has already qualified for next year's Winter Olympics as she continues to hit form on her comeback from a knee injury.

"There is no happier coach in the world at the moment," said Britain's freestyle skiing coach Pat Sharples.

"James produced an absolutely brilliant run to take silver, and what Katie has achieved so soon after coming back from injury has been amazing.

"The team is in a great place at the moment. There is a lot more work to do but we are in the best position to smash it heading into the Olympic season in 2014."

Doctor's wife dies in ski accident

A DOCTOR'S wife from Doncaster has died in a skiing accident in the Alps after tumbling 650ft down a slope and hitting a tree.

Experienced skier Brenda Smith, 56, is believed to have lost control on black ice and skidded off the piste in the French resort of Les Deux Alpes before suffering fatal head injuries. Mrs Smith was in the resort with her oral surgeon husband Keith. Dr Smith, a consultant at Sheffield's Charles Clifford Dental Hospital, was in the region for a conference.

Maurice Barker, who is married to Mrs Smith's mother Kathleen, said: "Keith is devastated. We all are, she was such a lovely woman. They went skiing twice a year. She would easily have been able to cope with a black slope." A former neighbour said: "They didn't have children and were devoted to each other.

"It's such a shock to find out that this has happened, Keith will be absolutely distraught. Brenda had an operation about six months ago on a knee she damaged whilst skiing. She has had a couple of operations as a result of skiing but it never put her off."