Sportsview, Olympics, Snowboard

Gold medal hopes at PyeongChang


“Snowboarding is like floating on the clouds”

Scotty James dominates the half-pipe.

At 23, James is a 2 x Olympian medallist, 2 x World Champion and in December 2017 won gold at the Winter Games in Aspen, Colorado.

His father, Phil James bought him his first ever snowboard when he was three for $10 while on a family holiday in Whistler, British Columbia. Over a decade later at the age of 14, the boy from Warrandyte landed his first major sponsorship and turned pro dominating the junior circuits.

A tough move for any teenager to live on the other side of the world away from his family, but James knew that in order for him to be best, he had to swap the surf for the snow and make the US his home base.

Off the slopes, James has a bubbly personality and a social media following of 65,000. His fan base in the US continues to grow, filling the stands at competitions around the country. James is known for wearing outrageous coloured snow gear and has an array of beanies he collects from each competition.

James isn't flying solo in this journey, his brother plays a major role in his success too. Twenty-seven-year-old Tim James is more than Scotty's older brother. He is his mentor, confidant and travels the globe with him capturing moments of Scotty in action, usually airborne in front of pristine white mountain peaks in the background.

Scotty James (left) with mother Celia and father Phil in ColoradoPicture prefect: Scotty's brother Tim documenting his success

The two-time Winter Olympian is in good form ahead of the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang this week. James unveiled the trick he hopes will give him a shot at Olympic gold, the switchback twelve, a trick he attempted for the first time at the Winter Games in Colorado December where he placed second.

Follow all the action of our Victorian athletes at the Winter Olympics here VIS.

** Photos courtesy of Scotty James social media accounts

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