SNOWBOARD HALFPIPE: Battered, bruised and slightly mad, Holly Crawford is eyeing a third Olympic Games berth in the Sochi Halfpipe.

The 29-year-old from Sydney’s Northern Beaches was a founding member of the first Australian Snowboard program in 2002. Ploughing away at her trade long before that, Crawford has dedicated some 15 years to chasing the snow and the Olympic dream.

“I think I’m just mad to be honest,” the 2010 Vancouver Olympic finalist said. 

“At the elite level there has to be a certain amount of crazy to get there I think.”

You need only look at the injuries that have rattled Crawford to understand what she means - damaged rib cartilage, a ruptured back, concussion, a forgettable stint in a Sochi hospital - and that was just one (bad) crash.

What Crawford describes as “all kind of weird and awkward injuries, not like a standard knee reco or sprained ankle,” have slowed but not stymied her Sochi aspirations over the past 12 months.

“Any other normal person would have just rested and been quite fine, but we push on.”

Dogged determination aside, Crawford says her Olympic journey to Sochi's winter wonderland has been paved by a remarkable team of doctors, trainers and physios.

“As it stands, without them right now I may have been qualified but may not have been making it to Sochi.

“I’ve sort of been butting my head against this brick wall for so long, but there comes a point where you just have to accept it and control what you can and let the rest of it just fall into place because there’s no point worrying about it.”

At the Olympic Test Event in February, Crawford crashed so badly doctors thought she had fractured her neck. She ended up back in Australia via an ambulance ride to a Sochi hospital and the prospect of being airlifted to Germany.

“I obviously don’t intend to make another visit to a hospital, especially after that last visit which wasn’t terribly pleasant… But I won’t let it scar my next trip, that’s for sure. There are many places that I’ve injured myself that I’ve been back to and done really successfully.”

After an “interesting” Sochi pre-season, beset with back-to-basics training, Crawford believes she is in a position for a third assault on the Olympic medal dais.

“With the tricks I have, I’m sitting pretty happy at the moment. There’s a couple more that I would have liked to already have under my belt to be fair, but I have been injured and the training conditions have been really difficult.

“I just hope to get to Sochi in really good nick and do what I can there and hopefully come out with a medal… I very much intend to be on the podium.”

Sure, the road to Russia has been plagued with injury - that seems to be one of Crawford’s traits, but limited preparation has never stopped her before.
Crawford has 17 World Cup medals to her name and is one of three Australians to win three winter World Championship medals (gold in 2011; silver in 2013 and silver in 2009).

She will be competing in a Sochi halfpipe that holds high hopes for Australia with 2010 Olympic gold medallist Torah Bright also contesting the women’s event and 2011 World Champion Nate Johnstone competing in the men’s.

Crawford and Bright are competing in the Dew Tour at Ion Mountain this week, while other Australians contest the FIS World Cup in Ruka, Finland.

Vancouver Olympian Scotty James and 2012 Youth Olympic medallist Alex Fitch are also among the Australians aiming to secure their spot in Sochi

A maximum of four men and four women can represent Australia in Snowboard Halfpipe in Sochi.