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March 02, 2022 5 min read
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The Olympics are well underway, and we've done our best to work out which boards the Olympians as riding. Every athlete uses a different board that will help them show their skill and technique in their individual event. Here you will see some of the best halfpipe, slopestyle and big air athletes and their weapon of choice. Let us know if we've got it wrong!
Chloe Kim is an American snowboarder and 2x Gold Medal Olympian in the women's halfpipe event. She became the youngest woman to win a gold medal after winning gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Chloe rides the Roxy XOXO Snowboard manufactured by Gnu. It's a playful yet highly capable freestyle board made for the park and the whole mountain. Chloe is riding the 2022 version of the XOXO, so if you're looking to buy the same board, it will have a different top sheet this year.
Julia Marino is an American snowboarder that has and will compete in the slopestyle and big air event. She placed second in the women's slopestyle event, with Zoi Sadowski-Synnot taking home the gold.
Julia recently joined the Prada Winter Team and rides the Linea Rossa snowboard. It took a while to narrow down who manufactures the Linea Rossa, but any skier with a keen eye will recognise the maker's logo. Ski Company Faction has collaborated with Prada to make Olympic level snowboards. The board is inspired by freeride design and is made using eco-sustainable materials. This one is probably out of our budget, with mixed reports on pricing from $1500-$5000 for the Linea Rossa.
Jamie Anderson is one of the best and most accomplished female snowboarders globally. The 21x X-Games medalist and 2xGold Medal Olympian competed in the women's slopestyle event representing America. Jamie, unfortunately, crashed out in the final but will defend her title at the big air.
Jamie rides her very own pro model board, the Ladies Choice by Gnu. This freestyle all-mountain twin balances progression and playfulness. It features progressive asym technology that is perfectly tuned for freestyle flow. The board is made from bio beans and a sustainably harvested wood core to reflect Jamie's eco mindedness.
Tess Coady is a 21-year-old snowboarder from Victoria that took home the bronze medal in the women's slopestyle event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. It was her second winter Olympics after she travelled to Pyeong Chang in 2018 but unfortunately ruptured her ACL in training.
Tess rides the Huck Knife from Salomon, a poppy park board with a classic blunt shape. This agile board has a quad camber profile that makes it responsive and fun. The Huck Knife is Salomon's only park-specific board and makes it a unisex model by default. As we saw from Tess's runs on the slopestyle course, the Huck Knife can really throw down.
Zoi Sadowski-Synnot represented New Zealand and took home the gold medal in the women's slopestyle event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The Sydney born Kiwi has cemented her name in snowboarding as the first New Zealander to take home a medal at a Winter Olympics.
It looked like Zoi was riding the Burton Talent Scout during the Winter Olympics. It was hard to narrow that down as her board didn't match anything in the current Burton catalogue. But according to her rider profile, Zoi rides the women’s Talent Scout. A camber park board made for intermediate to advanced riders who want power and control in all areas on the mountain. It's a slightly stiffer board that will allow riders to maintain control and edge hold when moving between rails and jumps.
Matty Cox is an Aussie snowboarder and Winter Olympian from Sydney. He debuted at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in the slopestyle event but crashed out in qualifications. Matty will be back to compete in the big air.
Matty rides a Rome SDS Stale Crewser designed by Norwegian snowboarder Stale Sandbech. The Stale Crewser is a directional twin board with a camber profile made for lapping the park all day. It has two separate fibreglass layers that run along two and three-axis for torsional stability. The Stale Crewser might be a park board, but it also performs as an excellent all-mountain board.
Max Parrot represents the Canadian Winter Olympic Team in the men’s slopestyle event. He won the gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics after a judging error saw Su Yiming win on the day. The judges later changed the score due to controversy over a 'knee grab', and Max was named the winner.
Max rides his pro-model board, the 'Max' made by American brand Nobaday. The 'Max' is a twin, all-mountain park board made for confident, aggressive riders. An X shape cross of carbon fibre runs through the board to provide better tension and take-off flexibility for riders. Another two fibreglass strings run from the tip to the tail to provide stiffness while keeping the board light.
Valentino is one of the youngest competitors to compete at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The 16-year-old Dalmeny local is known as one of the biggest rising stars in the snowboarding world and was lucky enough to land a spot in the halfpipe finals. He placed 6th, with Scotty James taking home the silver medal.
There was about an hour of research into this board to ensure we got the right one, but after a lot of zooming in, we think Val is on the Burton Custom X Camber. The Custom X is one of Burtons best boards made for expert riders that want responsiveness and power. Carbon is layered into the core of this board to reduce the weight and fine-tune the torsional feel. It has a twin flex and is perfectly symmetrical from tip to tail.
Su Yiming is a Chinese snowboarder that has exploded into the sport by winning the FIS Snowboard World Cup in 2021. He was the first Chinese snowboarder to take a World Cup Podium position. He won the silver medal in the men’s slopestyle at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
This one was hard to work out, and we could be wrong here, but Su Yiming usually rides a Burton Blossom. This true park board is a true twin for a more aggressive flex for serious riders who want to spin, stomp and ride as they like. It's not hard to tell from Su Yiming's style that his board is an extension of his body.
Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris was back at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics to compete in the slopestyle and big air. He took home the bronze medal at the slopestyle after Max Parrot and Su Yiming.
Mark rides the Burton Process Camber, a lightweight all-mountain board. The Process uses Purepop camber for a forgiving yet snappy feel. It's best suited for any freestyle rider that wants a playful board in the park and a hard-charging board for the rest of the mountain. This board's graphics are different from the version Mark rode during the Winter Olympics, but we are pretty sure it's the Process.
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