Snowboard halfpipe rider Holly Crawford won a World Championship silver medal in Stoneham, Canada, today, becoming one of only three Australians to finish on the podium of the biennial event on three occasions.
Crawford added the second place to her gold medal from 2011 and another silver from 2009, which equals the World Championship record of retired Australian aerial skier Jacqui Cooper and 2006 Olympic Mogul Skiiing champion Dale Begg-Smith.
Despite going into these Championships with just two events to her name in that last 12 months due to injury, the Australian Institute of Sport / NSW Institute of Sport rider went close to defending her title from Spain two years ago.
Crawford was edged off the podium top spot by American Arielle Gold, while Frenchwoman Sophie Rodriguez took the bronze.
Crawford had to fight back from a warm up session just before the final, which saw her unable to complete a full run without a mistake, due to heavy snow and the pipe’s slow conditions.
However, Crawford’s experience and determination enabled her to adjust from the slow start to the day, with the second of her two runs scoring 77.25 points, just 1.75 points away from Gold’s winning performance.
In the men’s event Australia’s other defending halfpipe champion and AIS / NSWIS rider Nathan Johnstone finished in seventh, after advancing to the final with the second best qualification score.
Two Australian teenagers, 18-year-old NSWIS athlete Scott James and AIS / NSWIS rider Kent Callister, 17, were both impressive in the qualification session, posting fifth and sixth best scores.
The pair finished their first World Championships in sixth and fifteenth, showing their potential for the future.
Swiss rider Iouri “i-pod” Podladtchikov was crowned World Champion, ahead of Japan’s Taku Hiraoka and Fin Markus Marlin in third place.
Crawford said that while she had hoped for another world title, she was extremely pleased to finish in the silver medal position.
“I’m really happy with the result,” Crawford said.
“It was really tough in there today. There was a lot of snow and the pipe was very slow and bumpy, which brings the field much closer together.
“It could have been anybody’s day today.
“It was really a case of who could get their run down basically.
“The conditions were as tough as I have experienced in some time.
Crawford said that competing in only two events in the last 12 months and limited time with on-snow training was not an ideal way to defend her title.
“I was fairly confident that if I landed my run that I would be on the podium,” she said.
“There was definitely more that I would have liked to have done. I suffered a bit of a setback with my injury but you take the good with the bad.”
AIS halfpipe program coach Ben Alexander said that the conditions were unsuited to Johnstone’s riding style.
“Nathan likes to do his tricks really big out of the halfpipe and today with the pipe being really slow, it made it difficult for Nathan to perform at his best,” Alexander said.
“It was a tough day for Nate.
“When you perform your tricks going extremely high out of the halfpipe, that sets you apart from somebody who can’t go that big.
“The conditions were the same for everybody but the guys who don’t go high out of the halfpipe have an advantage in these conditions.”
Crawford added the second place to her gold medal from 2011 and another silver from 2009, which equals the World Championship record of retired Australian aerial skier Jacqui Cooper and 2006 Olympic Mogul Skiiing champion Dale Begg-Smith.
Despite going into these Championships with just two events to her name in that last 12 months due to injury, the Australian Institute of Sport / NSW Institute of Sport rider went close to defending her title from Spain two years ago.
Crawford was edged off the podium top spot by American Arielle Gold, while Frenchwoman Sophie Rodriguez took the bronze.
Crawford had to fight back from a warm up session just before the final, which saw her unable to complete a full run without a mistake, due to heavy snow and the pipe’s slow conditions.
However, Crawford’s experience and determination enabled her to adjust from the slow start to the day, with the second of her two runs scoring 77.25 points, just 1.75 points away from Gold’s winning performance.
In the men’s event Australia’s other defending halfpipe champion and AIS / NSWIS rider Nathan Johnstone finished in seventh, after advancing to the final with the second best qualification score.
Two Australian teenagers, 18-year-old NSWIS athlete Scott James and AIS / NSWIS rider Kent Callister, 17, were both impressive in the qualification session, posting fifth and sixth best scores.
The pair finished their first World Championships in sixth and fifteenth, showing their potential for the future.
Swiss rider Iouri “i-pod” Podladtchikov was crowned World Champion, ahead of Japan’s Taku Hiraoka and Fin Markus Marlin in third place.
Crawford said that while she had hoped for another world title, she was extremely pleased to finish in the silver medal position.
“I’m really happy with the result,” Crawford said.
“It was really tough in there today. There was a lot of snow and the pipe was very slow and bumpy, which brings the field much closer together.
“It could have been anybody’s day today.
“It was really a case of who could get their run down basically.
“The conditions were as tough as I have experienced in some time.
Crawford said that competing in only two events in the last 12 months and limited time with on-snow training was not an ideal way to defend her title.
“I was fairly confident that if I landed my run that I would be on the podium,” she said.
“There was definitely more that I would have liked to have done. I suffered a bit of a setback with my injury but you take the good with the bad.”
AIS halfpipe program coach Ben Alexander said that the conditions were unsuited to Johnstone’s riding style.
“Nathan likes to do his tricks really big out of the halfpipe and today with the pipe being really slow, it made it difficult for Nathan to perform at his best,” Alexander said.
“It was a tough day for Nate.
“When you perform your tricks going extremely high out of the halfpipe, that sets you apart from somebody who can’t go that big.
“The conditions were the same for everybody but the guys who don’t go high out of the halfpipe have an advantage in these conditions.”
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