Snowboarding Legendary Athlete : Gian SimmenAthlete Details
Country: Switzerland
Sport: Snowboard
Past Olympic Winter Games Attended:
Nagano 1998
Salt Lake City 2002
Torino 2006
When the snowboarding halfpipe event was added to the Olympic program at the Nagano 1998 Olympic Winter Games, Gian Simmen, a 20-year-old from Switzerland, was not considered one of the favourites.
The competition began with a qualifying round with the top six snowboarders advancing directly to the final.
The rest of the entrants took part in a second qualifying round where an additional six finalists qualified for the final. In the opening round, Simmen finished 21st. He scraped through to the final by placing third in the second qualifying round. Once in the final, however, Simmen performed like a champion.
Competing in a downpour, he put together two solid runs and won gold. "I can't believe it," he said. "I've never ridden like this before. Maybe only in my dreams." Simmen’s has since competed in the Salt Lake City 2002 and the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games, but has never returned to the medal podium.
