Zoe finishes eighth at Olympic Winter Games
Team GB’s Zoe Gillings missed out on the medals at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, finishing eighth overall.
Snowboarder Zoe, who does some of her land-based training at the University of Bath, battled her way through to the semi-finals of the competition at Cypress Mountain.
But a third place finish in her semi put her into the small final, rather than the big final, where the medals are contested. An injury she sustained to her right knee in the semi-final prevented her from getting any further than the start gate in the small final, so she finished fourth and eighth overall.
Zoe, who finished 15th at the Turin Olympic Winter Games in 2006, said: “”Qualifying went pretty well in tough conditions with the fog and having to wait a long time at the gate.
“The first heat was perfect and then the (semi-final) didn’t go so well. I had a clash of boards at the top and a pretty hard landing halfway down and hurt my knee.
“I could get around the corners after that but I couldn’t hold the pressure around the corners, so I was going into all the bumps on the course and that’s why I didn’t make the final.
“Even standing in the start gate (for the small final) rocking back and forth it wasn’t looking good at all, so I wasn’t going to be able to ride.””
Despite the injury setback she was in positive mood following the competition and already looking to the future and her next Olympic ambition in Sochi, Russia, in 2014.
“I’m pretty happy with top eight. I was trying for a medal as I always do, so I’m disappointed with that but I definitely tried my best.
“I’m just looking forward to the future now. The BOA (British Olympic Association) has been awesome, looking after my programme, revamping the whole thing and really making it into a professional programme and hopefully they’re going to be a lot more involved going forward.”
In the immediate future Zoe is looking forward to supporting her team-mates, “It’s been absolutely fantastic being part of Team GB and I’m looking forward to supporting the other athletes now,” she said.
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The University of Bath is The Sunday Times University of the Year 2011/12.
