PYEONGCHANG 2018: Snowboard Cross silver medallist Jarryd Hughes will have the honour of carrying the flag and leading the 2018 Australian Olympic Team into the PyeongChang Closing Ceremony, as the world closes the Games of the 23rd Olympiad.

The 22-year-old Sydney-sider said being selected by Chef de MissIon, Ian Chesterman to fly the flag on behalf of the Australian Team was a huge honour.

“I am so excited to be chosen to be the Flagbearer for the Closing Ceremony, it’s hard to put into words,” Hughes said.

“It is the cherry on top of what has been the most amazing Olympic campaign and I am so proud to lead out this group of Australian athletes who have all been both an inspiration to me and the entire country throughout the Games.”

The Dual Olympian was one of three Australian medallists at the 2018 Games and has continued to lead the Team spirit and camaraderie post-competition.

“The bond between the Australian Team at these Games has been phenomenal. We have all been supporting one another and doing our best to show the world how proud we are to be Aussie Winter athletes.”

“The Closing Ceremony will be an awesome celebration of the hard work and dedication we’ve all put in over the past four years. To be able to lead my teammates is incredible.”

Hughes claimed his first Olympic medal, a silver at Phoenix Snow Park on Day 6 of the Games, with France’s Pierre Vauliter claiming gold and Regino Hernandez securing bronze for Spain.

“I still can’t quite believe I am an Olympic silver medallist. I’m sure it’s going to take a little while to sink in.”

“It’s a huge inspiration to keep pushing towards my, hopefully, third Olympic Games in Beijing 2022.”

After finishing 17th in his Olympic debut at Sochi 2014, Hughes went on to claim a gold medal at the 2016 X-Games and now has his greatest achievement to date.

“I’m so excited about this Olympic medal. I can’t wait to go home and share it with all of my friends and family.”

Joining Hughes on the Olympic podium was Matt Graham who claimed a silver medal in the men’s moguls, as well as Opening Ceremony flag bearer, Scotty James who secured bronze in the men’s snowboard halfpipe.

51 Athletes from 10 winter sports have all come together for the 2018 Games, supporting one another in a true display of team culture.

“I think the AOC has worked really hard this time around on focusing on a team environment, as well as high performance.

“I feel like I’m coming away from these Games with so many new friends and I am as proud of their accomplishments as I am my own.”

The Australian contingent will be one of the 91 nations marching into the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Stadium on Sunday night (AEDT), concluding what has been an exciting action-packed Winter Olympic Games.

The Closing Ceremony starts at 10pm AEDT and will be available to watch, live and free on Channel 7.

AOC

Dual Olympian Jarryd Hughes has won silver in the men's Snowboard Cross final at Phoenix Park.

The 22-year-old finished just behind Sochi 2014 gold medallist and current World Champion Pierre Vaultier (France) and was joined on the podium by Spain's Regino Hernandez who took bronze.

"As long as I'm enjoying it and having fun, more results like this are going to come along," Hughes said.

"The want to do well and my family, I couldn't have done any of this without my mum and dad. They've been amazing and I don't think I can thank them enough.

"I've been very fortunate to work with a lot of great people around the Olympics and the last few days I've been sitting there chatting with Alyce Burnett who's a kayaking Olympian and we've been able to chat about stuff and just kind of get my mind off it and not be too focussed so it's been really cool."

After a total of five knee surgeries since 2013, the Sydneysider said while it's been "rough" and "a long process" he was "just happy to be here". 

Hughes was left speechless whaen asked how it felt to be an Olympic silver medallist.

"I'll have come back to you," he joked.

Following a crash during the medal run, dual World Champion and triple Olympian Alex 'Chumpy' Pullin finished in sixth place -- his best Olympic result to date.

"It was a real shame but I didn't want to walk away today with any regrets and I was going for the gold," he said.

"Once I made the final I wanted to win here and really give it a shot ... I walk away happy to have really put myself in with a chance today, no regrets."

The 30-year-old added that he was "stoked" for the Australian team having three riders in the top 12 and a silver medal. 

"[It's] pretty cool to see a fellow Aussie in the final and even riding through some heats with Cam earlier was really awesome too," he said.

"To me, I don't really see it as a big four year cycle. I love my snowboarding, I love my racing but I really treat it year-by-year and analysing how each event goes. The fact that I'm 30-years-old and walked away from the biggest flat ladning I've had is pretty impressive to me."

Sochi Olympian Cam Bolton finished tenth, placing fourth in the Small Final after a crash in the semi final saw him injure his wrist and narrowly miss out on joining Hughes and Pullin in the Super Final.

The 27-year-old said while it was "disappointing to go out in that semi final" he was glad to be "able to get back out of the gate and secure that top ten spot."

"I'm proud of that even though it wasn't what I was aiming for," he said.

"It looks like I've torn some tendons or ligaments in the back of my elbow. We got it all splintered up and I was able to pull out of that last gate with my whole arm being still."

On his teammate's silver, Bolton said that it was an "incredible" result for Australia and the boardercross program.
"A great result for Jarryd, [he's] riding really strongly," he added.

Earlier, Olympic rookie Adam Lambert narrowly missed out on progressing through to the quarter finals after being caught up in a crash in the eighth finals, finishing just outside the top three in fourth place.

"I really wanted to do well here, I felt like I was riding the course super well but it's racing and things happen, sometimes they're out of your control," he said.

"I'll take the experience away, I'm an Olympian now which is awesome and I'll come back in four years time and race in Beijing and hopefully go for gold there instead of here."

The 19-year-old added that his Olympic experience had "been a lot different to what I expected".

"All the races I've had leading up to this have been on a way smaller scale," he said.

"It's so awesome to just be here but it's so different to what I'm used to and to at least have that experience moving forward it's a great time and I'm glad I could come."

In the morning, Hughes beat Vaultier to finish first in his eighth final, while Bolton and Pullin both finished second in their respective heats.

With all three Aussies competing in same semifinal, the pressure was on to secure a top three result for the Big Final.
Pullin was first across the line with Hughes in a close second and Vaultier securing the final spot in the medal run.

David Barden
olympics.com.au

SNOWBOARD CROSS: Sochi 2014 Olympian Belle Brockhoff has made her return to the mountain after a turbulent 11 months finishing 8th at the final pre-Olympic Snowboard Cross World Cup in Feldberg, Germany.

The 25-year-old, whose original plan was to “compete in just the time trials and maybe do one round of heats,” finished third in Sunday’s qualification runs before progressing through to the Small Final.

Having recently received medical clearance to compete in PyeongChang 2018, Brockhoff said it was “good to be doing the sport I love again.”

“It felt really good to be back, laid down a solid time trial even with a few mistakes than in training,” she said.

“I wanted to do a few heats to get back into the swing of things and got into the Small Final. Took a really hard landing during the first heat which flared up my knee a bit but wanted to push through the pain.

“I know I didn’t have an excuse to not be in the Big Final by looking at the way I was riding but I’m really happy regardless with where I’m at.

“I haven’t raced in 11 months so I really needed to get this under my belt. It gave me a lot more confidence with my riding but I do have a lot of hard work to do.”

In the men’s event, Brockhoff’s fellow Olympic teammates Jarryd Hughes and Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin also managed to secure top ten results.

Hughes, who will be competing in his second Winter Games, finished the second day of competition in six place and said that he “couldn’t be more excited” to be heading to Korea.

“I was able to carry some speed through heats and then got to work on my starts which was huge,” he said.

“I definitely improved throughout the day and in the Small Final got to practice some passing and get some battles happening which is good heading into Korea.

“I’m feeling great and have really benefited from a lot of help from dual Olympic Champion Seth Westcott (USA) so that’s been a huge help both for my performance and my confidence.”

Pullin, who is set to make his third Olympic appearance in PyeongChang, finished ninth and currently sits in second place on the World Cup standings behind long-time rival Pierre Vaultier (France).

Improving on their results from the opening day of racing, Cam Bolton finished 14th while Olympic debutant Adam Lambert ranked 19th.

Fellow Aussies Matthew Thomas and Josh Miller were unable to qualify for the eighth finals, finishing 38th and 40th respectively.

The Australian men will take to the snowboard cross track on Day 6 (February 15) of the PyeongChang 2018 Games at the Bokwang Phoenix Park while Brockhoff, the Australian team’s only female boardercross rider, will compete on Day 7.
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David Barden
olympics.com.au

​SNOWBOARD CROSS: Sochi 2014 Olympian Belle Brockhoff has been cleared to compete in the women’s snowboard cross event at PyeongChang 2018, after her initial selection was subject to medical clearance.

The Melbourne-native has had a rollercoaster twelve months of injury including a crash in early December that forced her to have surgery on her ACL less than two months out from Games.

The 25-year-old is relieved that she’ll be taking the start line on Day 7 of the Winter Games, saying she was “really happy” to pass the medical test.

“I was a bit nervous about the injury given that it was an ultimatum - either pass the test or go home and start over,” Brockhoff said, after acknowledging her recovery window post-surgery would be very short.

“I didn’t have a lot of time either so I was starting to feel the pressure but didn’t allow myself to crack. I just kept on believing in myself and telling myself it’s all mental.”

Brockhoff is now in Feldberg, Germany set to compete in a modified World Cup program before the 2018 Games kick off.

“I have a plan in place to compete in just the time trials and maybe do one round of heats in the second World Cup here since we want it to be a smooth introduction back to sport,” Brockhoff said.

“I’ve had a week on snow prior and got my confidence back. I’m really pushing it on my board so my knee can get used to the feeling.”

Brockhoff said she would not have got through her recovery period without her support team who have been helping her in every way possible so that she can compete in her second Olympic campaign.

“It has all been an awesome mental test that I’m really stoked about.

“It’s given me a whole new level of self-belief and knowing that no matter how many times life beats you down, you can get back up.”

Brockhoff will compete on February 16 where the top 30 female boardercross riders in the world will all vie for a chance to call themselves an Olympic Champion.

Ashleigh Knight
olympics.com.au