Winter Olympics 2010 Guide: Snowboarding

Snowboard / Editor / 04 February 2010 / Leave a comment

Lindsay Jacobellis (on the left) - tumbling blonde curls out of view

Short on history but big on thrills, snowboarding events are where the cool kids will be hanging out at the 2010 games. But where should you put your money?

"If your average piste is anything to go by, the snowboarders must be the 'cool' set who score well with the opposite sex."

What is it?
Now, I'm only guessing but you'd presume everyone is insanely jealous of the snowboarding team. If your average piste is anything to go by, they must be the 'cool' set who score well with the opposite sex. Not that I'm bitter or anything. At the Olympics, there are three events - the parallel giant slalom, the halfpipe and the snowboard cross.

In the parallel giant slalom, two racers compete against each other weaving between gates. It is a knockout competition with the overall winner going down nine times in total. In the snowboard cross, a quartet race over rolling terrain including jumps and ramps. The quickest two move on to the next round. Again a cup format provides the winner. However, the halfpipe is what your mind's eye sees when someone mentions snowboarding. Leaping high, twist and turning, pulling off cool tricks. They are judged on the altitude and aptitude of their tricks.

History
Not much. The first official competition was only held in 1981. The halfpipe and individual giant slalom was introduced at the Nagano games seven years later. Parallel giant slalom replaced individual slalom at Salt Lake City in 2002. Snowboard cross only entered the fray four years ago in Torino. Up to now, the USA have taken 14 medals, almost double that of the next country in the list, Switzerland with eight.

Who to watch
The one I'd watch is Lindsey Jacobellis but that is because she is a beauty with tumbling blonde curls. The American is also the favourite in the women's cross. She'll be challenged by the Canadian pair of Maelle Ricker and Dominique Maltais.

Fact!
China go into the Games with the top four women in the halfpipe world rankings - all of whom are under 18-years old.

Best Bet
Sun Zhifeng is bang in form. She leads that Chinese quartet and won the final halfpipe World Cup event before the Olympics. It was her third podium finish inside a month.

Tags: Olympic Snowboarding betting odds, Richard Douglas, Vancouver 2010 betting, Winter Olympics 2010 betting, Winter Olympics betting odds