RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) — Isabel Clark, a Brazilian female snowboarder, began her quest on Sunday for a spot on the Brazilian Olympic team for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada.

In order to qualify for the Games, Clark will have to place among the top 25 in the world by January 15, 2010.

If last season was any indication of what to expect, she will again win the chance to represent Brazil in Vancouver. Her first Winter Games appearance was in 2006 at Turin, Italy.

In 2008, she was ranked 18th worldwide. In the first event of the 2009 season worth points towards the year’s new ranking, the athlete placed 17th. The first stage of the World Cup of snowboarding held in Bad Gastein, Germany.

“Isabel has all the talent necessary to return to the Games and try to better her Olympic results won in Turin-2006. Today, she is widely recognized and respected throughout the world, attracting more attention to Brazil’s snowboarders in general,” said Stefano Arnhold, president of the Brazilian Confederation of Snow Sport.

Source