Coates Tips Major Jump in Medal Success at Winter Olympics

Australia’s chances of winning more medals at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics have received a major boost with the inclusion of ski and snowboard slopestyle events, on the program.

Anna Segal from Mt Buller in Victoria won the gold medal in slopestyle ski at the 2011 World Titles in Utah back in February while another Australian Russ Henshaw won the bronze medal in the men’s event.

Henshaw was doing a cardio session at the gym in Jindabyne today when he heard the news.

"We were hopeful and really wanted it. I’m really stoked that it (slopestyle) got in," the former alpine racer said.

"It certainly adds an extra goal. The fact the Olympics is only every four years makes it very special and motivating."

The President of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), John Coates, believes Australia will jump up the medal tally at the Russian Games.

"On top of our results in aerials, moguls and halfpipe we can clearly move from a top 20 nation to a top 15 nation," Coates said. "This decision is a major boost for our Winter sports who have shown dramatic improvement on the world stage for a number of years."

The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved the introduction at its meeting in Durban, South Africa. They also voted in favour of snowboard parallel slalom racing.

Slopestyle riders do complicated tricks while going down the mountain and negotiating rails, jumps and bumps. Each course can have up to six features and some jumps have athletes soaring 20 metres in the air. Both events are very much part of the IOC’s drive to connect with the youth audience.

Back in April the IOC introduced women's ski jumping, men's and women's ski halfpipe, mixed relay in biathlon and team events in luge and figure skating.

These events are also aimed at youth while increasing the number of women participants as the IOC strives for gender equality at the Games.

Segal, 24, is at the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) and won a gold medal at the X Games in 2009. Henshaw, 21, won a silver medal at the X Games in 2011 followed by his world championship bronze a week later. He is currently ranked number two in the world.

Ski & Snowboard Australia CEO, Michael Kennedy, said the move to more youth-orientated events on the Olympic program was a further boost to his sport.

"Australia has proven to be very good at producing winter sport champions in the newer disciplines of skiing and snowboarding for a number of years now, having won many Olympic, World Championship and World Cup medals in aerials, moguls, ski and snowboard cross as well as snowboard halfpipe," Kennedy said.

"We adapt well to the new disciplines and already we have two athletes in Anna and Russ who are world class performers in slopestyle."

The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Jacques Rogge said, "We are very pleased with the addition of ski and snowboard slopestyle and snowboard special slalom in the Olympic Winter Games programme. Such events provide great entertainment for the spectators and add further youthful appeal to our already action-packed lineup of Olympic winter sports. We look forward to welcoming all the athletes to Sochi in 2014."

At the Durban meeting the IOC Executive Board drew up a list of sports to be considered for inclusion in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Softball and baseball which were dropped from the program in 2005 are on the list and pushing for reinstatement.

Eight sports will be pushing for one place on the 2020 program. The others are karate, roller sports, sports climbing, squash, wakeboard and wushu.

Four sports - dance, surfing, bowling and netball - failed to make the cut.

For more information, contact:mike.tancred@olympics.com.au

As a service to our readers, Around the Rings will provide verbatim texts of selected press releases issued by Olympic-related organizations, federations, businesses and sponsors.

These press releases appear as sent to Around the Rings and are not edited for spelling, grammar or punctuation.

Your complete source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only.