PyeongChang 2018. Stories To Watch.
Snowboard.
The genesis of modern snowboarding began in 1965 when
a Michigan engineer invented a toy for his daughters
by fastening two skis together
and attaching a rope to one end.
He later patented the invention,
sold half a million Snurfers
and organised the first snurfing competition in 1968.
Over time, snurfing competitions
became known as snowboard competitions.
In PyeongChang 2018 there will be ten snowboard events,
In the parallel giant slalom,
two athletes snowboard side by side down a hill
to the finish.
Fastest times get through qualification
until single elimination in the later races.
In the halfpipe, snowboarders traverse a U-shaped course
with 6.7-metre walls, executing tricks that are judged on
amplitude, difficulty, variety, execution and progression.
The best score of two runs in the last round determines
the final score.
Inspired by motocross,
the snowboard cross features up to six skiers at once
on a course with jumps, rollers and banked turns.
Fastest to the bottom wins.
In slopestyle, athletes perform three jumps
and navigate three rail sections on a course,
with the best of two runs
determining first qualifiers and then final placements.
Big Air for the first time shows off
each athlete's best jump off a long ramp,
with the best of two counting in qualification
and best two of three
in the final.
Snowboarding events
will take place at the Phoenix Snow Park
at the foot of Mount Taegi,
site of the freestyle skiing events as well.
The Big Air events will take place
at the Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre, which will create
a great atmosphere for the spectators.
Do you know which snowboarder
has his own video games?
Find out at the end.
(ALEX DEIBOLD, USA)
Alex Deibold won bronze in snowboard cross at Sochi 2014.
He was a backup
and a wax technician at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
He started snowboarding at age four when his mother gave him
a purple and green board for Christmas.
He entered his first slopestyle competition when he was eight.
Alex has twice undergone surgeries on his hands
after other skiers ran over them.
Alex has been on the course in PyeongChang
and likes what he sees.
The features are quite a bit bigger,
the jumps are bigger, the speeds are faster.
It's the biggest event and they build a course as such.
Will Alex's next Olympics be coloured in gold?
(KELLY CLARK, USA)
At 34, Kelly Clark is a legend of the sport.
The four-time Olympian has won halfpipe medals
at three Winter Olympics, including gold in 2002.
In 2001, she became the first woman to land a 1080.
Kelly's first steps in the sport came on
a plastic Mobile Monster snowboard
her parents bought for a few dollars at a variety store.
The 18-year national team veteran has been
a member of the US team longer than some of her team-mates
have been alive.
She will use every bit of her experience in PyeongChang.
I've never been the most talented athlete.
I've just kind of not stopped working.
And I've had the privilege of representing the US
the last four Olympic Games, so experience does go a long way.
(OLYMPIC MEDALS)
The top five in total all-time medals are -
Austria with one gold.
Canada next with three gold and seven overall medals.
France have ten.
Switzerland 12.
And the US at the top with 24.
(SEPPE SMITS, BEL)
Seppe Smits started as a Big Air contender,
winning three world medals,
before taking golds in 2011 and 2017 in the slopestyle event.
Now with Big Air's addition to the Olympic programme,
he'll have a chance to win in both events.
I'm going to showcase the best that I got,
try to learn a couple of new tricks definitely
in the meantime.
It would be amazing to get a good result there.
Seppe grew up in the temperate lowlands of Antwerp, Belgium,
not an ideal place for youngsters to be
groomed as snowboarders.
Belgium has never won an Olympic gold medal on snow.
With Big Air joining the Olympic programme in 2018,
will Seppe shine as he flies through the clouds?
(KATIE ORMEROD, GBR)
Katie Ormerod became the first woman
ever to land a double cork 360.
By the way, that's three rotations
and two inverted flips.
Katie will compete in both slopestyle
and Big Air events in PyeongChang.
I think the slopestyle particularly
is going to be one of the most creative courses
we've ever seen, so I'm really looking forward to it.
When she was 11, Katie was inspired to see Jenny Jones
win a gold medal in slopestyle at the X Games.
Katie has overcome ligament damage
and a broken bone in her back during training in 2016.
Katie hopes to make some history of her own
in PyeongChang.
Did you know?
The so-called regular snowboarders head down the snow
with their left foot forward.
But those who move with their right foot forward
are referred to by a more technical name - goofy.
(SCOTTY JAMES, AUS)
The reigning two-time world champ in halfpipe,
Scotty James, was just 15 at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver,
when he became Australia's
youngest male Olympian in 50 years
and the youngest male competitor from any country
in any sport at those Olympics.
Scotty's first board wasn't actually made for snowboarding.
His father had trouble finding a board small enough
for Scotty, so he bought him the display board.
In Sochi 2014 he didn't make the halfpipe final.
When Scotty won his world title in 2017,
he had already clinched gold before his second run,
so needing no score on his second run,
he simply snowboarded along the course, high-fiving spectators.
Will he be the new king of snowboard in the pipe?
(CHLOE KIM, USA)
17-year old Chloe Kim is already
a three-time champ in the X Games in halfpipe
and will be one of the favourites in PyeongChang.
Chloe often experiments with new hair colours and dyes.
Chloe is Korean-American and has several family members who
still live in Korea and will be coming out to watch her.
At a Grand Prix event in 2016, Chloe became the first woman
to land back-to-back 1080s in a halfpipe competition.
Will her performance in Korea set off a family celebration?
So, the answer to our question,
the snowboarder that has his own video games -
that is two-time Olympic gold medallist Shaun White.
Snowboarding runs through week 1 and week 2 of the Games.
In the first week the slopestyle,
halfpipe and snowboard cross get under way.
In the second week it's the parallel giant slalom.
Big Air is in the second week
which is held at the ski-jumping venue.
It's sure to be a huge two weeks for snowboard fans
and will be exciting action all the way to the end.
The Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang,
set to begin February 9th. Fill your knowledge tank
by watching other episodes on Olympic Channel.