Sochi 2014: Team GB On Fire!
What an incredible weekend for British snowboard with great success in the first ever Olympic Slopestyle event! Saturday saw our very own team rider Billy Morgan smash it in the Semi Finals with a first place finish to guarantee him a place in the 12 man Final along side fellow TeamGB rider Jamie Nicholls who had secured his place in the finals in the qualification round on Thursday.
The boys really stepped it up against 10 other of the world's best riders to fit for a potential spot on that elusive Olympic podium. Billy unfortunately fell on his first run but not without getting back up and landing his first ever triple cork 1620 on the last jump, which he may be only second rider in the world to do so in competition. As for Jamie, he stomped his first run which had arguably the best rail section of the competition along with an amazing cab 1440 to a switch backside 900 and finished with a triple cork 1440! This gave Nicholls the first place spot, but with all the riders having another run to go the pole position wasn't held on to. Both Billy and Jamie weren't able to hold down their second and final run for a medal and Jamie finished in 6th place with Billy in 10th. An amazing performance on such a huge world stage.
The Sunday saw the ladies take to the Slopestyle course and TeamGB were representing once again with up and coming star Aimee Fuller and our most experienced British snowboarder Jenny Jones were given their chance to make history. In the Semi finals Aimee couldn't quite land her impressive double backflip losing out on a spot in the finals but Jenny kept calm and put down a solid run to ensure she was in contention for a spot on the podium. In the finals she didn't let the nerves get the best of her either completing another great consistent run with precision landings and great amplitude. The judges kept her and the nation wait for the score for which seemed like an eternity, but when it finally cam through she was in first place! She still had to wait for the rest of the riders to make their last runs with the best in the world still to drop... After an intensely long wait the last ride dropped in for the last run whilst Jenny sat in Bronze medal position by this point, unfortunately for the competitor she fell during her run and the realisation that Jenny had just become the first British athlete to win an Olympic medal on snow had be made!
