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Henshaw to wave the flag for Australia in Ski Slopestyle

25/1/2018

 
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SKI SLOPESTYLE: Russ Henshaw has been selected for his second Australian Winter Olympic Team in ski slopestyle, subject to medical clearance.

The 27-year-old injured his knee after recording his best result this season, with 16th at the Mammoth World Cup last weekend, but is selected on the 2018 Team with the aim he is given the ‘all clear’ from doctors prior to the Games.

Henshaw was Australia's only male competitor in ski slopestyle when the sport made its Olympic debut at the Sochi 2014 Games.

The then 23-year-old entered the Games under an injury cloud but easily qualified for the final. In his first run of the finals, Henshaw fell off the top rail and drifted offline on the second last jump. Despite the mix up, the run was clean, giving him his top score of 80.40, which saw him finish in eighth place.

Since his Olympic debut the Sydney-sider has won silver at the 2015 World Championships and bronze at the 2017 Seiser Alm World Cup.

He placed in the top 20 in all events during the 2016/17 World Cup season, ending with an impressive eighth place finish at the 2017 World Championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain.

He had a slow start to the 2017/18 World Cup season, battling injury and illness, but returned to full health at the start of the year to record a 34th place at Snowmass before qualifying for his first final of the season at Mammoth Mountain, where he finished 16th.

Ski slopestyle will be held at Bokwang Snow Park on Day 9 of the Games (February 18). Find out more about freestyle skiing at the Games HERE.
​
Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au

Top 16 for Henshaw

24/1/2018

 
PictureSochi Slopestyle skier Russ Henshaw
Sochi Olympian Russ Henshaw had his first finals hit out for the season at the Mammoth Mountain World Cup over the weekend.
 
In a huge event with 63 competitors, the 27-year-old qualified fourth in his qualification heat with a top score of 84.66 to have a run in the top-16 final.
 
He unfortunately couldn’t complete his full run in the final, finishing in 16th place, which is a season’s best for Australia’s top slopestyle skier.
 
Canada’s Teal Harle won gold with a best run of 94.20, ahead of Swiss skier Andri Ragettli and fellow Canadian Evan McEachran.
 
Having overcome injury and illness that impacted his opening two World Cups, Henshaw went into the event feeling more confident than he had all season after he put down a solid run at last weekend’s Snowmass World Cup, where he finished 34th with a top score of 79.33.
 
The Sydney-sider made his Olympic debut at Sochi 2014 when the sport of Ski Slopestyle appeared in the Olympic program for the first time. He will be looking to improve on his 8th place finish from Sochi if he is selected in his second Winter Olympic Games Team for PyeongChang 2018.
 
His fellow Australian teammates Nic Stevens finished 41st at Mammoth with a top qualification score of 50.33.

Georgia Thompson
AOC

 

Henshaw feeling confident for Mammoth Slopestyle World Cup

16/1/2018

 
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Slopestyle skier Russ Henshaw has received “a real confidence boost” after competing in Snowmass ahead of this week’s World Cup in Mammoth, California.
 
While Henshaw missed last weekend’s 16-man World Cup final after placing 34th in the qualification runs, he said that he was “stoked” to have finished the day with a best score of 79.33 after mixing things up in his second run.
 
“I landed everything and yeah, I don’t know, I took a bit of a chance with the rails at the top trying to be creative and I don’t think the judges really liked that but I was happy with it,” he said.
 
The Sochi Olympian said that ahead of the last qualifier for PyeongChang he is “feeling good”, especially after having what can only be described as a bumpy start to the season.
 
A back injury sustained at the season opener in Cardrona, New Zealand impeded the 2017 Slopestyle Skiing World Cup bronze medallist’s qualification round and saw him finish in 34th place.
 
Meanwhile in Font Romeu, France, a combination of poor conditions during training and a head cold then saw the 27-year-old finish in 55th place.
 
“Last two events I’ve had a bit of trouble – New Zealand I put out my back, unfortunately, which kind of sucked,” he said.
 
“And in Font Romeu I had a bit of a cold and I really didn’t like the course there.
 
“To put a run down [today], it’s good momentum going into Mammoth and fingers crossed for good weather there, because the last four years have been a little touch and go!”
 
Henshaw will be joined in Mammoth by fellow Aussies Nic Stevens and Ryley Lucas.
 
Stevens finished in 46th place in Snowmass after a best score of 69.00, while Lucas finished 58th on 43.66.
 
The next Slopestyle World Cup will take place at Mammoth Mountain, California from the 19-20 of January. For live results click HERE or follow OWIA on Twitter HERE or Facebook HERE.
 
David Barden
OWIA
​

Snowmass World Cup a confidence boost for Henshaw

12/1/2018

 
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Slopestyle skier Russ Henshaw has missed out on this weekend’s 16-man World Cup final at Snowmass, Colorado after placing 34th in Thursday’s qualification runs.
 
Nevertheless, the Sochi Olympian remains positive as he now prepares for the next World Cup at Mammoth Mountain, California saying that Snowmass has given him “a real confidence boost”.
 
The 27-year-old said that he was “stoked” to have finished the day with a best score of 79.33 following his second run.
 
“I landed everything and yeah, I don’t know, I took a bit of a chance with the rails at the top trying to be creative and I don’t think the judges really liked that bit I was happy with it,” he said.
 
“I put together a run in training that I was super stoked on and then had a little bobble on the first run, the speed kind of changed coming into the second bump and I went smaller than I thought I was going to, so [I] missed my grab and the score reflected that.”
 
The 2017 Slopestyle Skiing World Cup bronze medallist hasn’t had an ideal start to the season after sustaining a back injury at the first World Cup in Cardrona, New Zealand which impeded his qualification round.
 
In Font Romeu, France, a combination of poor conditions during training and a head cold then saw Henshaw finish in 55th place.
 
“[I’m] feeling good, this was a real confidence boost,” he said.
 
“Last two events I’ve had a bit of trouble – New Zealand I put out my back, unfortunately, which kind of sucked and in Font Romeu I had a bit of a cold and I really didn’t like the course there.”
 
Fellow Aussies Nic Stevens and Ryley Lucas were also on the Slopestyle course on Thursday with Stevens finishing the day in 46th place and Lucas 58th.
 
The next Slopestyle World Cup will take place at Mammoth Mountain, California from the 19-20 of January.
 
For live results click HERE or follow OWIA on Twitter HERE or Facebook HERE.
 
David Barden
OWIA
​

Font Romeu hosts opening Slopestyle Skiing World Cup

19/12/2017

 
PictureRuss Henshaw training in Laax, Switzerland last week. Photo: Russ Henshaw Instagram
Sochi Olympian and 2017 Slopestyle Skiing World Cup bronze medallist Russ Henshaw hits the hill this week in Font Romeu, France for the season’s first World Cup and Olympic qualifier.
 
Many of the world’s best riders will compete from December 19 to 23 at the French ski resort in the to qualify into PyeongChang.
 
Slopestyle requires a series of acrobatic and aerial tricks on a specially constructed track not dissimilar to skateboard rails. The sport ‘with no rules’ is one of the most popular disciplines and debuted in Sochi in 2014, where Henshaw placed eighth.
 
In early 20107, Henshaw - from Jindabyne, captured a World Cup bronze medal at Seiser Alm in Italy after recovering from a brutal 2015/16 when he sustained a shoulder injury.
 
In the run-up to PyeongChang Henshaw is reporting that he is in good shape and looking forward to the start of his competitive season.
 
“I'm feeling really good and had an amazing time preparing in Laax (Switzerland). I got quite a few days on the jumps and also had the bonus of skiing a lot of powder so it all worked out great,” Henshaw said this week as he arrived in Font Romeu.
 
With each course specially constructed, he is eager to test out this year’s track.

“I haven't seen anything to do with the course yet. Hopefully it is all good and the weather cooperates this year,” he said.
 
Official training gets underway today and Men’s qualification begins at 7.25pm (AEDT) on Thursday, 21 December with finals on Saturday, 23 December from 10.47pm (AEDT).
 
You can follow the live scoring HERE, check for updates on OWIA Twitter HERE or tune into Eurosport from 10.30pm (AEDT) on Saturday night. Check the Eurosport Slopestyle Skiing broadcast schedule HERE
 


Slopestyle: NZ World Cup frustration

4/9/2017

 
PictureSlopestyle skier Russ Henshaw
The first Slopestyle World Cup for the season in Cardrona, New Zealand finished in frustration for OWIA skier Russ Henshaw and snowboarder Jess Rich.

Having overcome multiple serious injuries from past seasons, Henshaw was fit and ready to go until he arrived in New Zealand where he sustained a back strain, which impeded his qualification round, ending out of the finals and placing 34th overall. Other Australian’s results were Nic Stevens in 50th and Ryley Lucas in 59th place.

Henshaw has since returned to his home base in Jinadyne and says he is already well on the mend.

"My back feels a lot better. I had two days skiing since being back from New Zealand and it feels a lot better than when I was there!" he said today.

In the Ladies Snowboard Slopestyle competed this weekend, Jess Rich was unfortunately unable to start either of the two qualification runs. 16-year-old Junior World Champion Tess Coady placed ninth in her qualifying heat and did not make the final ten.

"Unfortunately I was injured during training due to course conditions," Rich said. "I will be off snow for a couple of weeks, but nothing too serious."

The Snowboard Halfpipe NZ World Cup qualification gets underway this Friday with finals on Saturday. Scheduled to compete are Emily Arthur, Holly Crawford, Kent Callister and Nate Johnstone.
 



No rules: The winter sport attracting Aussies

10/8/2017

 
PictureSlopestyle Ski Olympian Russ Henshaw at Perisher Resort last week. Photo @kylebullock_
Decorated slopestyle skier Russ Henshaw is leading a winter sport that has become very attractive to young Aussies.

Heading towards his second Olympic Winter Games, Henshaw understands the lure of slopestyle, whether it be on skis or snowboard.

“You can do stuff with your friends. They see what you’re trying and they want to have a crack at the trick too,” he explains.

As a natural buddy to skateboarding, Australian snow resorts have cottoned on and many offer ‘terrain parks’ equipped with a mixture of jumps and rail features that test the skill of those daring enough to have a go.

Better still, Slopestyle is doubly attractive because it’s a sport with no rules. It’s a matter of competitors putting down a clean run from start to finish with the highest level of tricks they can muster.

27-year-old Henshaw began his skiing career as an Alpine skier winning the Under-12 slalom title before trying out the free-skiing terrain in Thredbo. By fifteen he had joined the European circuit and hasn’t looked back since.

His career has included a World Championship silver and bronze, an XGames podium and four World Cup medals but it is a second Olympics that is a driving goal.

Slopestyle debuted as an Olympic sport in 2014 at Sochi where Russ Henshaw placed 8th, nursing a torn ACL.

During the 2016/17 season he took the bronze medal at the Seiser Alm Italian World Cup and finished 8th in the World Championships.

“My main goal is to stay healthy. Last season I came home achieving what I wanted to achieve – and that was to be injury free.”

After a sluggish start to the Australian snow season, Henshaw is relishing the current conditions on the NSW snow fields from his home base in Jindabyne, getting in as much training as he possibly can ahead of the first World Cup in New Zealand in early September.

“POW days are the best days,” he commented on Instagram last week.

“When it’s good weather, I will be up early for coffee and breakfast before the first lift and train until 1pm. Then it’s the gym, recovery and start it all again,” Henshaw said of his current daily routine.

After the World Cup in New Zealand Henshaw will compete in two more of the World Cups during the coming season to qualify inside the top thirty for PyeongChang next February.

“I’m feeling pretty confident (of qualiyfing). My absolute main goal is to stay healthy,” he reiterated. “I will be doing everything in my power to go into PyeongChang healthy and ready to go.”

Henshaw will head to his Switzerland training base in October before contesting two more World Cups in North America later in the year.


Ski Slopestyle athletes seeking success at Sierra Nevada

16/3/2017

 
PictureSlopestyle skier Russ Henshaw
Russ Henshaw and Ryley Lucas will form Australia’s two-man Ski Slopestyle contingent at the 2017 FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships.
 
The pair come into the season’s ultimate event having contested each of the five rounds of the 2016/17 Ski Slopestyle World Cup.
 
Henshaw is on the comeback from injury and is happy with his form. He skied with confidence at the Silvaplana World Cup in Switzerland and finished fifth in his heat. His season best performance came at the Seiser Alm World Cup in Italy where he won bronze.
 
The Sochi Olympian says his World Championships campaign will also benefit from two days of on-snow training at Switzerland’s Laax ski-resort.
 
“You only need one or two good days and everything comes back, it’s all muscle memory, Henshaw said.
 
“I ended up doing a bunch of tricks there that I was happy with so I’m feeling good coming into this event, if I didn’t have those two days I’d be a bit stressed,” he said. 
 
Henshaw already has bronze (2011) and silver (2015) World Championships medals, the latter was won within a year of knee surgery to repair two torn ACLs.
 
“Where I’m at right now I feel my body’s back to what it was before all that stuff started happening and I feel like I’m skiing like myself,” he said.
 
“I know I’ve got a lot more to offer and I just need the time on snow to work through it,” Henshaw said. 
 
21-year old Ryley Lucas made his World Cup debut in 2016 and comes into these World Championships with a full World Cup season under his belt.  He will be looking to finish the season on a high and make a strong World Championships debut.
 
UPDATE FRIDAY PM SPAIN TIME: Ski Slopestyle qualifying has been cancelled Friday due to the conditions. Further updates from officials are being awaited. Final events will be lived streamed at: https://www.skiandsnowboard.org.au/2017-snowboard--freestyle-world-champs/
 


Henshaw just misses final in Silvaplana

3/3/2017

 
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NSWIS Park & Pipe skier Russ Henshaw, has narrowly missed out on advancing through to the finals at the World Cup event in Silvaplana, Switzerland.

With competitors divided up into four separate heats, with the top four athletes advancing through to the final, Henshaw produced two consistent runs, scoring 83.33 in the first run and 80 points in his second.

With Henshaw's first run score of 83.33 counting in the best of two format, he fell agonisingly close with just one point separating the fourth and fifth place skiers.

Henshaw had to settle for fifth in his heat, and an overall placing of 18th.

After the event, Henshaw was u-beat despite his near finals miss.


"Four go through to finals from each heat, I got 5th in my heat."

"Super frustrating but really happy with how I'm skiing!"

In the final, victory went to Canadian Teal Harle with American's McRae Williams and Gus Kenworthy in second and tird place.

Silvaplana was the final stop on the World Cup circuit, with Henshaw finishing the season ranked eighth in the World.

The next event for Henshaw will be at the FIS Freestyle World Championships taking place next in Sierra Nevada, Spain, from March 17-19.

Image courtesy Russ Henshaw Instagram


Two top-10's for Rich in Quebec City

13/2/2017

 
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NSWIS Snowboard athlete Jess Rich has led the Australian charge at the World Cup event in Quebec, City, Canada, with two top ten performances.

The Quebec City event featured both Snowboard and Skiing athletes competing in the Slopestyle and Big Air Olympic disciplines.

Rich made a strong start to the event with an eighth place qualifying performance in Big Air, narrowly missing the top six women's final.

Competing in the Slopestyle, Rich achieved her best result of the season, finishing ninth in qualifying, again missing the top eight final by the narrowest of margins.

Russ Henshaw advanced through to the top-16 men's Slopestyle Skiing finals after qualifying fourth in his heat.

In the final, Henshaw was unable to match his qualifying performance, with two low scores in the final giving him a placing of 15th.

Also in action for Australia in Quebec were NSWIS athletes Matt Cox and Ryley Lucas. Cox finished in 48th and 44th place in the Snowboard events, with Lucas 62nd in the Slopestyle Skiing.

IMAGE: Russ Henshaw (right) with Felix Usterud of Norway ©
Russ Henshaw Instagram


Henshaw in fine form with another WC final place

10/2/2017

 
PictureA strong showing in Canada for Russ Henshaw after his bronze medal run above in Seiser Alm, Italy.
Just two weeks after claiming his third World Cup medal of his career, Russ Henshaw has qualified for another slopestyle skiing final this morning in Quebec City, Canada.

His podium finish in Seiser Alm, Italy, which earned him a bronze medal, marked a big success in his return from repeat injuries over the last four years.

Now, after illness kept him out of competition in Mammoth, USA, the Australian has shown he knows how to bounce back well, delivering an 84.66 in his 2nd Run to qualify for the 16-man final out of Heat 2.

The fourth World Cup course of the season has been designed to highlight the best of the extraordinary skills shown by some of the best skiers in the world.

Three kickers in a row, each gradually building in size, open the run with skiers then taking on three simultaneous rail sections, offering many different trick options for riders to showcase their best tricks.

Henshaw will be back on the course for the finals on Monday morning at 4am (AEDT) in his bid for more silverware in 2017.​ 

Strong showing by Australia in the weather affected Mammoth Mountain Grand Prix

6/2/2017

 
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Weather has played havoc at the US Snowboard and Freeskiing Grand Prix event in Mammoth Mountain, CA, USA, with events shortened or cancelled completely.
 
The US Grand Prix also doubles as a FIS World Cup event counting towards Olympic qualification. Unfortunately, wild weather featuring high winds and snow forced the cancellation of the men’s Slopestyle Skiing event which was to feature Russ Henshaw and Ryley Lucas. The extremely heavy conditions led to the men’s Snowboard Halfpipe and Slopestyle qualification rounds to be abandoned.
 
In total, four top ten performances where achieved by the Australian athletes across three different disciplines.
 
The highlight of the event was 16-year-old NSWIS Snowboarder Tess Coady placing sixth in the slopestyle final in her first ever World Cup. Jess Rich was unable to advance to the eight woman final, finishing in 21st place.
 
VIS 2017 X-Games Gold Medallist Scotty James was the leading Australian male in the men’s Snowboard Halfpipe, finishing in sixth place. NSWIS riders Kent Callister and Nathan Johnstone also had good runs in the difficult conditions placing eighth and eleventh respectively.
 
In the women’s Snowboard Halfpipe, Holly Crawford made a positive start to her first event of the season finishing in eighth place, just missing advancing to the final by two places. Emily Arthur was also in action with a 14th place qualification performance.
 
The Snowboard Halfpipe athletes now head to PyeongChang, Korea, for the Olympic Test Event World Cup, with the Slopestyle Snowboarders and Skiers off to World Cup events in Quebec City, Canada.

IMAGE: Tess Coady in nicer weather conditions at Mammoth at the start of the week! © Tess Coady Instagram

Russ Henshaw makes it back to the podium

29/1/2017

 
PictureRuss Henshaw (left) takes Bronze in the Seiser Alm Slopestyle Skiing World Cup this morning.
Russ Henshaw has claimed the third World Cup medal of his career, delivering bronze at the World Cup slopestyle ski event in Seiser Alm, Italy.
 
The podium finish marks his return to better form, having recovered from four years of continuing injury. Understandably Henshaw is “stoked” to be back on the podium.
 
“I feel like I’m back to myself. This medal is a hurdle - having spent time in rehab and training”
 
“To get back on the podium is a dream. I’m stoked. The hard work was worthwhile. I did a lot of road biking which gave me time to think,” Henshaw said.  
 
Following his bronze medal run, the NSWIS skier high-tailed it to Munich to make it onto an early morning flight for the next World Cup in Mammoth, USA, but took the time to share a ‘rail by rail’ account of his event.
 
Slopestyle Skiing is a sport where rails really aren’t rails as the casual observer might know them and every World Cup course has different set features for the skier to navigate.
 
The Seiser Alm course in Italy course was set with six features. The skiers have two runs in World Cup events with the best score of the two counted. Russ’s medal came off his first run, which scored  83.40.
 
“In the first feature, the stair set had three rails. I hit the middle down rail with an ‘unnatural lip slide 270’,” Russ said. “That was my only bobble in the whole run – the rest of the run was smooth.”
 
For the uninitiated, the remaining five features went thus;
 
“The second was a ‘backside 450 off the pole jam’ which worked out fine, then another down rail I hit with a switch tails 270.”
 
“For the fourth, I did a ‘left double cork 1260 with a tail grab’ – and it was a leading tail grab.”
 
“The last two features were a ‘switch double cork 900 (with a double Japan grab) and finally a ‘right side double cork 1260 with a mute grab’.”
 
Interestingly, after a few viewings of these lengthily-named manoeuvers, a casual observer is able to see the difference.
 
“Some moves I don’t understand myself,” Russ admitted. “The sport is advancing terribly fast and there is so much that hasn’t, as yet, been done.”
 
“It’s a sport that has no boundaries, is very free and liberating.”
 
“For this World Cup, I’d say that my run was complex from top to bottom, rather than one stand-out feature, and that delivered a bronze.”     
 
“In Slopestyle there are no rules about what you can or cannot do. There are tricks I’m thinking about and want time to train for but I don’t want to risk chucking myself at one trick.”
 
“Then there’s Korea to think about,” Henshaw said about the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games.

Henshaw qualifies for final in strong position 

27/1/2017

 
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OWIA/NSWIS slopestyle skier Russ Henshaw has made an impressive start to the World Cup event in Seiser Alm, Italy, qualifying through to the final in second place overnight.
 
Competing in heat number two, Henshaw produced two well executed, consistent runs, with his first scoring 88.66 points and then improved in the second run with a score of 90.
 
The format for the event saw the top four ranked athletes from three heats progress straight through to the final, with scores from the best of two runs counting. Henshaw’s highest scoring second run (90 points), saw him advance with the second best score in his heat.
 
After qualifying, Henshaw was pleased with his performance.
 
“Pretty stoked on my skiing, glad I scored so high with my safety run.”
 
“I am looking forward to finals on Saturday.”
 
Also in action for Australia was NSWIS athlete Ryley Lucas in 51st place.
 
The final is scheduled to take place Saturday night at 9:43pm AEST.

IMAGE: Russ Henshaw giving us a unique point of view flying high above Seiser Alm © Russ Henshaw Instagram

Strong return the main takeaway for Henshaw

13/1/2017

 
PictureA big thumbs up from Russ Henshaw on his return to the snow tonight in France. Credit: Russ Henshaw, Facebook (@paddygraham)
He may have missed qualifying for the final, but tonight's opening World Cup of the Slopestyle Skiing season was about far much more than that for Russ Henshaw. 

Proud and relieved at completing his first competition in over a year, Henshaw scored 80.20 points in his second run at Font Romeu, France,  to sit in 18th spot overall out of a massive field of nearly 80 riders.

After a difficult run of injuries and rehabilitation, Renshaw was philosophical about his performance, regardless of missing a finals place by a mere two spots.
​
“I am just so stoked to be fit, healthy and back on the snow,” he said.

“Being the first event I’ve done in a year, it’s given me good momentum going into the next one and a lot of confidence on the snow which is important.”

“I was really happy with my second run and thought I was a little under rewarded but at the end of the day that’s what happens in a judged sport and I’m just wrapped with how I skied.”

It’s a brilliant return for the Russ, who will now focus on his preparation for a busy schedule with another six World Cup events before the end of March.

Unstoppable return a sure thing for Russ

10/1/2017

 
PictureHenshaw perfecting his jumps in preparation for the first World Cup in Font Romeu, France. Credit: Russ Henshaw, Facebook
Skiing: It may be a dangerous sport, but nothing will stop slopestyle skier Russ Henshaw from competing at the first major event of the new year.

With the Northern Hemisphere World Cup season kicking off this weekend in Font Romeu, France, Henshaw is eager to get back into international competition. This World Cup marks the Sochi 2014 Olympian’s first competition in almost a year, after a difficult run of injuries and rehabilitation.

However, despite a less than optimal lead up to the occasion due to weather conditions at a training camp in Austria, the Sydney-born skier isn’t fazed about his returning event.

“I haven’t competed in almost a year now which has been pretty crazy and unfortunate because of the injuries that I’ve had,” Henshaw said.
“But I feel refreshed and ready to go. “It will be interesting to see how I go with the jumps in Font Romeu, but saying that I have done a few jumps here [in Austria] and it doesn’t feel like I’ve had a day off snow.

“I feel fit; I’ve been doing a lot of road biking so my legs feel really strong.”

Growing up in Jindabyne in southern New South Wales, Henshaw was raised on the ski slopes and begun competing at just six years-old. Starting out as a race skier, Henshaw then made the switch to freestyle skiing when he started “having more fun jumping off things.”

“I found myself, on the way down to the [race] course, taking all the side carts and detours for the jumps and cliffs. My mind wasn’t in racing anymore,” said the 26-year-old.

By the time Henshaw was 14, he was solely focused on slope and big air. However, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the dual World Championship medallist, who is no stranger to injury. He tore his ACL in 2011, and in order to speed up his recovery, his father donated part of his hamstring.

Less than two year later, fresh off a silver medal at the Copper Mountain World Cup, Henshaw tore the same ACL but opted for rehabilitation instead of surgery with the Olympics just 12 months away.

This gamble ultimately paid off as Henshaw made his Olympic debut at Sochi in Russia, entering the history books as Australia's sole male competitor in the debut event of Ski Slopestyle.

Despite his rocky run into the Games, Henshaw bounced back, easily qualifying for the final. Knowing he needed to pull off a triple cork to be in medal contention, Henshaw gave it everything he had but ran out of room on the landing to score 28.80, finishing eighth behind American Trio Joss Christensen (95.80), Gus Kenworthy (93.60), and Nick Goepper (92.40).

PictureWhile it's a lot of hard work, there's also a fair bit of fun to be had on the job.
​Despite countless injuries, Henshaw has never thought twice about his sporting career choice.

“At the end of the day, what we do is a dangerous sport. “You can try and be as careful as you can and take the most precautions that you can… If you crash, sometimes you get away with it and sometimes you don’t.”

“But this is what I love doing, so I just want to keep doing it.”

The 2015 FIS World Championship silver medallist is now working towards qualifying for his second Olympic Games, he says staying relaxed and cool is the way to get there.

“I just need to keep calm and collected and not get too wound up in all the media hype. “I need to make sure I’m having fun; that’s the biggest thing. When I ride well I’m usually having a good time, so just make sure I’m having fun with it.”

Traveling through America and Europe with his fiancé Laura helps keep Henshaw’s head in the game.
​
“I am lucky enough that I have my fiancé with me and she handles all the bookings, flights, accommodation and the logistics side of things so I can just focus on skiing."

“It is hard being away from my family, but at the end of the day this is what I love doing and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Following this weekend’s competition, Henshaw is down to compete at another six World Cup events before the end of March, before returning to Australia for a small break.

Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au

Henshaw fourth and Mullins ninth at Mammoth Mountain

25/1/2016

 
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OWIA/NSWIS slopestyle skier Russ Henshaw has finished fourth in the Men’s World Cup/Grand Prix Slopestyle Skiing event at Mammoth Mountain, California.

Henshaw was in third place at the completion of the first run, and looked set for a podium finish until Oystein Braaten of Norway, on the very last run of the finals, scored an 86.40.

This was enough to relegate Henshaw to fourth, with a best score of 85.60.

The event was finally able to get underway after less than ideal conditions over the past few days, which resulted in postponements.
 
Slopestyle Snowboard
Competing in the Women’s Slopestyle World Cup event, seventeen year old NSWIS athlete Mahalah Mullins set a new personal best in finishing ninth.

Mullins has been training in Colorado as she continues her preparations ahead of next month’s Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer, and her ninth placing at Mammoth is an ideal tune-up.

In the men’s event, NSWIS athlete Angus Waddington finished in 31st place.

IMAGE: The slopestyle course @ Mammoth © Russ Henshaw Instagram

Tough start for Park & Pipe athletes at Dew Tour

14/12/2015

 
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The first event of the northern hemisphere winter has taken place for the OWIA Park & Pipe athletes, with the Dew Tour competition taking place in Breckenridge, CO, USA.

The highest placing athlete was OWIA/VIS Halfpipe Snowboarder Scotty James, who finished in 13th place after the semi-final, which advanced James to the last chance qualification round. In the last chance round, James finished eighth, unfortunately missing out on the final.

Also in action in the men's Halfpipe Snowboard were OWIA/NSWIS riders Nathan Johnstone in 23rd and Kent Callister in 29th.

Competing in the Slopestyle, OWIA/NSWIS skier Russ Henshaw finished 26th, with SSA/NSWIS Snowboard Slopestyle athlete Jess Rich finishing in 15th place.

IMAGE: Scotty James boosting out of the Breckenridge halfpipe © Scotty James Instagram

OWIA Sport Programs Update - Park & Pipe

7/10/2015

 
Torah Bright, Holly Crawford, Russ Henshaw, Scotty James and Nathan Johnstone trained predominantly in NSW at Perisher and Thredbo resorts during the Australian season.

World Cup events took place at Cardrona in New Zealand during August for Slopestyle and Halfpipe.

Australia’s leading performance in New Zealand came from Nathan Johnstone, who place seventh in the Snowboard Halfpipe event. Russell Henshaw placed 35th in Ski Slopestyle.

Other notable top-10 results in New Zealand came from NSWIS athletes Jess Rich who was seventh in Snowboard Slopestyle and Emily Arthur who placed ninth in Snowboard Halfpipe.

Kent Callister is currently in New Zealand training taking part in on snow training.

Callister wins first World Cup medal

2/3/2015

 
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Australian teenager Kent Callister won his first World Cup medal when he finished third in the snowboard halfpipe event in Park City, USA.

The podium finish is the season’s highpoint achievement for Callister, who ends his World Cup commitments with a world ranking of four and results that support the promise he has shown since his World Cup debut at the age of 16.

Callister delivered an experienced performance, which almost contradicted the fact that today’s event was just his seventh World Cup in an accelerating career.

By finishing on the podium along with event winner Yiwei Zang from China and American Taylor Gold, Callister has added to the steady stream of medals won by Australians in World Cup and the World Championships this season.

Callister stamped his claim for a place on the podium in the qualification session last Thursday when he posted the second best score in his heat.

His qualification score of 87.50 earned him a berth in the 10-man final.

Callister, 19, said that he was “super happy” with the result and went in to the event with a degree of confidence that a medal was within reach.

“I thought the run in the final was great,” he said.

“I definitely thought there was potential for me to get on the podium but I suppose I wasn’t really expecting it.”

Being his first World Cup medal and having his dad, Brett Callister, who arrived at the venue just one hour before the start of the final, in the crowd made the result even more special for the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia/NSW Institute of Sport athlete.

“It was a super good contest and I was riding really well,” Callister said. “I had a lot of fun.

“It was probably the best run I’ve ever done.

“I put in a few tricks that I’ve been working on over the past couple of months.”

One of the additions to his repertoire is a front-side double cork 1080 and today was the first time he has landed one in competition.

Callister scored a 88.50 in the final with a double crippler, a back-side 900, a front-side 1080, a double cork 1080 and finished with a front-side double cork 1080.

Callister has ramped up the level of difficulty of his tricks this season in a quest to become more a threat at major events.

“I don’t think I would have been able to get on the podium today without that last trick,” Callister admitted.

Callister has experience significant improvement over the last two seasons but is certainly not resting on his laurels.

His improvement has drawn attention from many in the halfpipe fraternity, resulting in berths in two upcoming invitations only events, including the prestigious US Open in Vail next week.

Nate Johnstone and Holly Crawford finished in 11th and eighth respectively, narrowly missing the finals while Matthew Cox was 29th and Emily Arthur was 21st.

Slopestyle Ski & Snowboard: 13th place for Mullins in Park City
Also competing in Park City for Australia where a number of slopestyle ski and snowboard athletes.

OWIA/NSWIS and 2015 World Championship medallist Russ Henshaw had a difficult day in the men's skiing slopestyle qualifying, finishing in 26th place. 

Competing in her second World Cup start, 16-year-old NSWIS athlete Mahalah Mullins recorded a 13th place performance in the women's snowboard slopestyle event.

IMAGE: Kent Callister (right) on the podium in Park City © Kent Callister

Henshaw wins World Championships silver medal

22/1/2015

 
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Slopestyle skier Russ Henhaw became a dual World Championships medallist when he picked up the silver at the FIS Ski and Snowboard World Championships in Kreischberg, Austria, early this morning (Australian time).

The Olympic Winter Institute of Australia/NSW Institute of Sport athlete added the silver medal to the bronze, which he captured in the 2011 Championships.

Henshaw’s heroics provided Australia with the fourth medal at these Championships, placing Australia in equal third place on the medal tally board, level with China and ahead of a number of winter sports powerhouse nations, after the completion of 14 of 24 events.

The United States currently leads the medal tally, with Canada in second position.

The 24-year-old Henshaw skied brilliantly throughout the event scoring just 0.8 of a point less than the gold medallist, Switzerland’s Fabian Boesch, with American Noah Wallace in the bronze medal position.

However, for much of the final, it looked like Henshaw would join snowboard halfpipe rider Scotty James and aerial skier Laura Peel, who both won gold medals this week.

Right from the start of the event Henshaw, who qualified for the final in equal second place, was the pacesetter, grabbing the lead at the end of the first of three runs with a score 90.6.

Boesch fell during his first run, which pushed the Swiss skier down to ninth place going into the second round.

Henshaw further excelled in the second run by improving his score, earning a 91.8 from the judges with a performance boasting a little more speed and amplitude compared with run one.

In his second time down the mountain, Boesch answered the challenge and was able to address the problems with his first run. The judges awarded him with a 92.6, which grabbed the lead from Henhaw and established a score that remained unbeaten.

The Australian stepped things up in his final run in an attempt to snatch back first place, however, it was not to be.

Henshaw said he was “wrapt” to secure silver and was particularly pleased with the way he skied today.

“It felt good today and I put down three good runs and I’m pumped,” Henshaw said.

When Henshaw arrived at the Championships, he thought he was skiing well enough to be a medal chance but did not put any pressure on himself.

“I kind of came into the event to have some fun and put down a run that I would be happy with,” he said.

“If it worked out, it worked out, if it didn’t, it didn’t.”

What added to Henshaw’s satisfaction was the fact that he medalled on a day when so many of the 10 finalists were putting down high standard runs.

“A couple of the runs were crazy so it’s really nice to get up on the podium.

”I can’t remember the last time I put all three runs down and stood on the podium. I’m pretty pumped.”

Henshaw rates today’s result as being “up there” with the many highlights he has achieved throughout his career.

Not that he is regretting anything about his performance today but he said that a “slight wobble” on the top rail in his third run may have been the difference between gold and silver.

“At the end of the day the gold could have gone either way,” he said.

“If I had not had that wobble on the top rail, it could have been a close call. It would have been interesting to see how the judges would have called it.”

Henshaw said he tossed up between competing at X Games in the United States and competing in Kreischberg but chose the World Championships purely because he wanted to represent Australia, a thrill he has experienced at three World Championships and the Olympic Winter Games in Russia 12 months ago.

“I’m sure I made the right decision,” he said.

Who could disagree with him?

Henshaw's highest scoring second run included:
  • Right 270 onto the down-rail
  • 630 off the canon rail feature
  • Left double cork 1080 tail grab
  • Right double cork 1260 mute grab
  • Switch 270 on, 450 off the high rail
  • Switch left double cork 1260 mute to Japan grab

Career best third place for James in Dew Tour

15/12/2014

 
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Scotty James has continued his strong early season form with an impressive career best third place finish at the Dew Tour event in Breckenridge, CO, USA.

James put down two solid runs in the Snowboard Superpipe final against a strong field that included many of the best athletes in the world.

After the first run in the finals, James was sitting in second place with a score of 87.5, behind eventual event winner Taylor Gold of the USA with a score 90.5.

In the second and final run of the event, James improved on his first run score posting 88.25, but was narrowly relegated to third place by Yiwei Zhang of China who finished second with a score of 88.75, just 0.5 ahead of James.

Other Australian's in the Superpipe event were Holly Crawford (12th), Nathan Johnstone (20th) and Kent Callister (30th).

In the Freeski Slopestyle event, Russ Henshaw placed fifth in the last chance qualifier, giving him an overall finish of 15th in his first performance back since knee surgery following the Sochi Olympics.

Image: Scotty James celebrates after finishing on the podium at the Dew Tour © Scotty James

Happy Henshaw in one piece after Ski Slopestyle final

13/2/2014

 
PictureRussell Henshaw reacts after competing in the Freestyle Skiing Men's Ski Slopestyle © Al Bello/Getty Images
Russ Henshaw staked his place in amongst the world’s best free skiers by finishing 8th in the men’s Ski Slopestyle. Going into the final, the chilled out athlete knew he had to pull off a triple cork to be in medal contention. He went for it on his very last jump, but ran out of room on the landing.

“That was actually the first one I’ve tried since I’ve been here, so I’m glad I gave it a crack, got close,” the 23-year-old said.

“I did the build up to the triple [in training] but didn’t do it just because I wanted to make it to the big show. I’d rather go down like I did then, than go down in training and not compete at all.”

Henshaw had hoped to include a triple cork in his first run, but was forced to change plans when he fell off the top rail and drifted offline on the second last jump. Despite the mix up, the run was clean, giving him a score of 80.40.

The boy from Jindabyne said he was actually happy to get down in one piece, having being plagued by fresh injuries in the past few weeks.

In a bid to be at his best for his Olympic debut, Henshaw’s been off the alcohol for the past 14 months, but says tonight he’ll allow himself to have a beer.

Team USA made a clean sweep of the podium, with all three medallists executing triples along the way. Gold medallist Joss Christensen put down two technically solid runs (95.80), Silver medallist Gus Kenworthy came back from a failed first run to nail his second (93.60), and pre-Games favourite Nick Goepper had to settle for Bronze (92.40) in a tough field.

Emily Groves | sochi2014.olympics.com.au

Henshaw does it again

22/12/2013

 
PictureRuss Henshaw in action at Copper Mountain Photo: Sarah Brunson/U.S. Freeskiing
Slopestyle skier Russ Henshaw has continued his strong season with a third place in the Copper Mountain World Cup in the United States.

The podium finish has provided Henshaw with enough points to move into the world’s number two ranking.

Competing in an extremely high quality 16-man final, which included a number of local athletes using the event to secure team selection for next February’s Sochi Olympic Winter Games, the 23-year-old NSWIS athleten finished on the podium beside the winning Norwegian Andreas Haatveit and Nicholas Goepper from the United States.

A heavy dump of fresh snow in the last 24 hours made conditions challenging, prompting Henshaw to deliver two runs that he described as “solid” as opposed to having a high degree of difficulty.

Henshaw’s first run earned him 80.40 point, putting him in seventh place, with Goepper heading the leaders’ board on 89.20

However, the Australian’s competitive spirit kicked in prompting him to turn up the heat in his final run of the day, which saw him post a score of 87.80 points, giving him his second podium finish in a week. He also finished third in the prestigious Dew Tour last weekend in Breckenridge.

Henshaw said that while he was pleased to grab the bronze medal, which is the third time he has stood on a World Cup podium, the event was not his best performance of the season.

“It was super tough conditions today so I basically stuck to doing a run I knew I could do,” Henshaw said.

“I think today was more about doing a solid run rather than doing the absolute hardest run I could do.

“The conditions were tough so to even be able to put a run together felt great.

“We have had a lot of fresh snow over the last 24h and this made the course super slow which meant it was really difficult to make it over the jumps.”

This result has encouraged Henshaw to miss the World Cup events remaining before the Sochi qualification cut off date of January 20.

In the women's event AIS / VIS skier Anna Segal finished in 29th and fellow Aussie Annabel Blake was 26th. Both were unable to qualify for the final which was won by Canadian Dara Howell, American Darian Stevens was second and third went to American Grete Eliassen.


Henshaw on the podium in high class field

16/12/2013

 
PictureRuss Henshaw (right) on the podium at the Dew Tour event © Dew Tour
Australian slopestyle skier Russ Henshaw kicked off his Northern Hemisphere season with a podium finish at the celebrated Dew Tour event in the United States today.

The 23-year-old NSW Institute of Sport athlete added a bronze medal to the win he recorded in the same event last year.

Today’s final was won by American Nick Goepper, with Canadian Alex Beaulieau-Marchand in second place.

With the Dew Tour being used to select some of the places on the USA Olympic Team for the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, the event attracted a high quality field of athletes seeking US selection and a strong contingent of overseas competitors looking to prepare for the World Cup season.

Henshaw said that finishing on the podium in such a high class field was a “dream come true” and he is looking to the Copper Mountain World Cup event in the United States on Friday with high expectation.

“The Dew tour is the first major event on the calendar so to podium here is a huge confidence boost going into the rest of the season,” Henshaw said.

“The Dew Tour is one of the biggest events in free skiing. It’s so tough to podium at this event and to actually get on the podium again is a dream come true.

“Coming into the first event of the season you get a feel for how everyone is riding and what tricks they are doing and to know you are right up there with them is an awesome feeling.”

To put his performance into context, Henshaw believes that the Dew Tour attracts one of the strongest line-ups of slopestyle skiers in the world.

The starting field of 30 athletes are all individually chosen from the best in the world who battle through qualifying to the final, which consists of 16 skiers.

Such was the quality of the field that Henshaw described the field as “one of the toughest I have ever competed in.”

And on top of that, fluctuating conditions, including gusty strong winds, made it a little more difficult for Henshaw to land his tricks and make it to the podium.

“Literally all the top guys were at this event,” Henshaw said. “Obviously the conditions were rough but that didn't take away from the level of riding we saw today,” he said.

“I had a really rough time in training due to the conditions. It was super windy and hard to judge speed, which you probably noticed in the competition.

“My first run of the competition, I caught a crazy gust of wind coming into the 3rd jump, so I decided not to do the switch double cork.

“The pressure was on to land my run and I can't even begin to describe how good it felt to put my 2nd run to my feet and to be bumped up onto the podium.”

Also in action was AIS Slopestyle athlete Anna Segal, who made her return to competition since injuring her knee in February 2013. Segal placed 11th in qualifying, narrowly missing out on the eight woman final.

Both athletes will compete next week in the World Cup event in Copper Mountain, Colorado, USA.


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