SKI SLOPESTYLE: Following his first day of official training on the Slopestyle course at Phoenix Snow Park, skier Russ Henshaw has said he’s received a “boost in confidence” heading into the PyeongChang Winter Games.

The 27-year-old, who won silver at the 2015 World Championships and bronze at the 2017 Seiser Alm World Cup, said that PyeongChang 2018 has “been a long time coming”.

“I’m super excited and to finally be there was unreal,” he said.

“I was felling out the course trying to piece things together and figure out what I want to do.”

Ahead of what will be his second Olympics, Henshaw said that he feels “more prepared” this time around. 

“I’m not as stressed out as I was in Sochi, I’m a little bit more at ease,” he said.

“It’s almost like [the course] is flipped here. The jumps in Sochi were huge while the rails here are massive and the jumps aren’t as big. It’s not a bad thing though, Slopestyle is pretty different.”

As Australia’s only competitor in Ski Slopestyle, the Sydneysider joked that while it can feel lonely being the only one of his countrymen on course, he’s great mates with his competition including Sochi 2014 silver medallist Gus Kenworthy.

“A lot of the other athletes I grew up with skiing before this was an Olympic sport,” he said.

“I’m really good mates with Gus Kenworthy, he’s big competition but one of my best mates.”

With unpredictable wind gusts, Henshaw will have to be on the top of his game during Sunday’s competition.

“The wind’s gusty, we’re smack bang in the middle of a wind farm, there’s wind turbines everywhere,” he said.

“It’s changing all the time. One minute head wind, the next tail wind. You have to be really onto it when you’re riding.”

Ski slopestyle will be held at Phoenix Snow Park on Day 9 of the Games (February 18). Find out more about freestyle skiing at the Games HERE.

David Barden
olympics.com.au