JADE Martin is hoping to represent Australia in skeleton at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Having had her first taste of the sport only last year, she will head overseas to compete on the international circuit this October.

Looking to spend five months in Europe, America and Canada with her fellow WA team mates, the 21-year-old said she never dreamed she would have another chance to compete at the Olympics after a back injury forced her to retire from the Australian gymnastics team in 2008.

“About three months before I was meant to head to Beijing, I was forced to retire due to stress fractures in my back,” Martin said.

“My old coach told me about the try-outs for bobsledding last November, so I thought I’d give it a try.”

She qualified for the WA skeleton team – a fast sliding winter sport that propels athletes down a frozen track facing down using a small sled.

But Martin did not actually make her track debut until March this year, when her team went to New York for the International America’s Cup race.

All achieving a ranking within the top 100 in the world, she said she was keen to continue in the sport. “Skeleton gives me the same adrenaline rush that gym did,” she said.