I
t only seems like yesterday we were getting excited about the $50 billion Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia,
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남한 동계 올림픽 The South Korean Winter Olympics
held in six Winter Paralympic sports, with 80 medal events in total. Snowboarding will be expanded into a separate discipline for the Pyeongchang Games, with 10 medal events (in 2014, two medal
when the biggest-ever spend
The South Koreans have not splashed the cash like
events in snowboarding were held within the alpine
on ski resort infrastructure
the Russians, but as a country known for its high
skiing programme).
was splashed out by the
standard of living and high-quality infrastructure,
government and its oligarch
top-notch facilities should be the order of the day.
friends and Britain won only
Indeed, the various 2018 Olympic venues are now
our second-ever Olympic
all but complete, and the world’s top athletes have
snowsports medal – and the
already been competing in test events last winter
first one we got to keep!
and will do again this.
Now it’s only a year until the
The construction of the venues has not been
Winter Olympics are back,
without controversy, however. A key issue was
There’s still a year to go, but here are a dozen of
for their 23rd staging, this
that although there are a dozen or so ski resorts
the biggest talents on the British team:
time further east still in South
in South Korea, there was no existing ski run with
Korea, and hopes
조심하는 영국 선수 Brits To Watch Out For
a big enough vertical to host the blue ribbon
Dave Ryding (Alpine Slalom):
are high for more British medals after
Men’s Olympic Downhill. Various solutions were
five top 15 World Cup Slalom finishes.
snowboarder Jenny Jones’s bronze in the Sochi
suggested including building a bit more mountain
Katie Ormerod (Park & Pipe Snowboard):
Slopestyle competition.
on top of the existing biggest vertical so that it was
World Cup Big Air gold in Moscow plus four other
The Sochi Paralympics of course saw huge
big enough, but in the end a whole new ski area
World Cup podiums this season, X Games invite.
success for British skiers, with a haul of six
was created, reportedly involving the removal of
James ‘Woodsy’ Woods (Park & Pipe Ski):
medals including four for Jade Etherington with
ancient woodland, which was not a popular move
gold in Cardrona Games Slopestyle in the summer,
her guide Caroline Powell (making them the most
with environmental groups.
performed well in Dew Tour, got X Games invite.
successful British women in the history of the
Fifteen winter-sports disciplines will be included in
Jamie Nicholls (Park & Pipe Snowboard):
Winter Paralympics) and the first-ever British gold
the Pyeongchang Games, divided into seven Olympic
gold in World Cup Slopestyle last season.
won by Kelly Gallagher. The Pyeongchang Winter
sports and spread over 102 separate events – the first
Katie Summerhayes (Park & Pipe Ski):
Paralympics, their 12th staging, begins 12 days
time the Winter Games has hosted more than 100.
Sixth in World Cup Slopestyle last season at 2018
after the Olympics Closing Ceremony.
Seven of the 15 sports take place on skis or
Olympic venue Bokwang.
South Korea last hosted an Olympics, the Summer
snowboard – downhill there’s alpine, freestyle, ski
Kelly Gallagher (Paralympic Alpine Skiing):
Games, three decades ago at Seoul in 1988.
jumping and snowboarding, and there’s also cross-
gold medal holder from 2014 Sochi Olympics.
They’re the first country in Asia to hold the Winter
country, Nordic combined and biathlon.
Isabel Atkin (Park & Pipe Ski):
Games other than Japan, which has staged it
The games will see four new events, including two of
Fourth in Dew Tour this season.
twice before. However, the Winter and Summer
interest to skiers and boarders: snowboarding big air
Billy Morgan (Park & Pipe Snowboard):
Games will be staying in Asia for a while with
and the alpine skiing team event. Parallel slalom in
World Cup bronze in Moscow, X Games invite.
Tokyo hosting the next Summer Games in 2020
snowboarding has been dropped in favour of big air.
Lloyd Wallace (Aerials):
followed by China for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Competitions in the 2018 Winter Paralympics will be
Seventh last season in Deer Valley World Cup.
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