The New Generation: Snowboarding and Freestyle

Tradition has always been important to me. Perhaps because I’m basically a creature of habit, with the broad philosophy of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Through the twentieth-century, the Winter Olympics seemed to adopt the same world view. Since the dawn of time, the Dutch had been skating extremely fast, Finns leaping from mountains, tough-as-nails Norwegians and Russians skiing through forests, rifles on their backs, and Germans hurtling down a tortuous ice chute in a tin box. However, even I had to admit that not all of these worthy sporting activities lent themselves to substantial TV audiences and consequently investment from advertisers.

When the X-Games were introduced in the 1990s, I may not have batted an eyelid but now the long-haired stoners had a global televised showcase for their own daredevil stunts. The success of the winter version undoubtedly made the IOC pay attention and embrace modern trends to attract younger viewers. At first, snowboarding seemed to be the wealthy, dope-addled surfer dude’s winter pastime of choice, and soon proved Xtremely lucrative for the very best.

In 1998, the Nagano Olympics introduced me to the Half-Pipe, which involved guys and girls, probably high on weed, dressed in baggy snowman suits having a gentle post-puff ride punctuated by outrageous somersaults. Some of the leading exponents may have failed drugs tests but it was actually quite impressive to watch.

Other snowboarding events have since been brought in but I find it reassuring that skis haven’t yet been binned by the Xtreme generation. Add a ‘Freestyle’ prefix, chuck in the obligatory contrived acrobatics, et voila! I remember when I first saw Moguls, then a straight head-to-head ‘Duals’ race, I didn’t know whether to be amazed or laugh. The participants looked like battery-operated toys, their knees pumping frantically over a course of lumps and bumps. It’s only when you look closely, or at the slow-motion footage, that you appreciate the skill, balance and fluid hip movement that make a winning performance. The solo events against the clock (and judges’ assessment of the jump) can be worth watching, too.

During the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics I found myself viewing something called Slopestyle Skiing. Perhaps the Beeb had opted to focus on the event because of a few Brits in medal contention, but I watched with a mixture of fascination and disbelief. Like observing local kids on skateboards or BMX, I had little interest in sliding down rails but when the athletes began performing extravagant flips, spins and grabs from the various ramps, often taking off and landing backwards, I began to appreciate just how difficult this must be. The snowboarding version was also quite exciting but even these racers often took a tumble. At least they, unlike their ski-wearing equivalents, could recover from a fall instead of collapse in an ungainly flurry of poles and blades.

2018 also delivered a thrilling piece of history when snowboarding and alpine skiing came together in the form of Ester Ledecka. The 23 year-old Czech stunned the ski world and especially herself (that post-finish expression of bewilderment is priceless) by taking the gold in Super G before repeating the success in her more familiar event of Parallel Giant Slalom on the board, thus completing an unprecedented double-discipline success.

Nevertheless, my favourite Winter Olympic innovation has to be that of genuine races between several competitors. With so many jumps leading to spectacular crashes and tight turns offering the potential for high-speed collisions, Snowboard and Ski Cross events are now my winter sports highlights. Two incidents in particular stand out.

In the 2006 Torino Games, I remember the commentators raving about the American favourite, Lindsay Jacobellis in the women’s snowboard cross final. A couple of early falls had left her leading by a vast margin. All she had to do was take it easy, stay upright, glide to the finish line and – oops! I nearly split my sides laughing. I love it when the Yanks blow it big time. Remarkably, while the Gold had gone she could still dust off the snow and take second place.

A Ski Cross men’s quarter-final at Sochi eight years later also illustrated how thrills and spills can also generate an extraordinary climax. Sometimes it’s best to hang back in third, watch the carnage unfold ahead of you, weave around the debris and claim victory. Now THAT’s winter sport!