Charity campaigner and ex-wife of Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney has been offered a place in the development squad for the British disabled ski team for a trial period.
The former model lost the lower part of her left leg in a traffic accident in 1993, though she now hopes to represent Great Britain at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia.
The 42-year-old competed on ITV's Dancing On Ice and the US show Dancing With The Stars, showing herself to be clearly motivated for a challenge.
"Heather is only at the first stage of a journey that we hope will lead to her becoming a full squad member," team manager Dave Chugg stated.
"She has made clear her ambition to represent Great Britain in adaptive ski racing and approached the British disabled ski team to try out for our development squad. At a recent assessment in an indoor ski slope, she demonstrated that she responds well to coaching and is capable of adapting her skiing in response to coaching direction.
"During the trial period with the development squad she will have the opportunity to develop her skills and follow a set programme both inside and outside of our squad setting. This will allow us to judge her progression from her current standard of being a very good recreational skier towards becoming a racer."
Whilst her age will clearly be an obstacle, Chugg insisted that she had "shown good levels of fitness and determination", also dismissing suggestions that her fame will result in her being treated favourably.
"When working with our squads, Heather will be treated the same as any other team member in terms of our expectations on and off the slope," he said.
"But she will also be able to work hard with personal coaching when away from the squads."
