British snowboarder Mia Brookes has twice made history in Bakuriani, Georgia, becoming Britain’s youngest ever Freestyle World Champion in Freestyle Snowboard Slopestyle.
The 16-year-old from Cheshire (pictured) came into her second final run in silver medal position, but delivered a stunning performance which saw her land the first ever CAB 1440 double grab in a women’s snowboarding competition. That’s four full rotations. The incredible move scored her 91.38 to take a breathtaking World Championship Gold.
Brookes got the better of reigning Olympic Gold medallist Zoe Sadowski-Synnott from New Zealand when she upped the technical ante with the CAB 1440 – named after skateboarder Steve Caballero. It left Sadowski-Synnott with too much to do in the final run of the contest.
Not only did her triumph make her the youngest ever Brit to take a Freestyle World Championships medal, Brookes is now only the second British snowboarder to become a World Champion, joining defending Snowboard Cross World Champion and teammate, Charlotte Bankes.
After her incredible achievement Brookes told the BBC: “I honestly feel like I’m going to cry. I’ve never been so happy in my life. I was at the top and my coach said, ‘If you want to win this, just try the 14’.
“I tried 12 in practice and I came round and almost went 14 and I knew it was possible on this jump. I tried it once before, but this is the first time I stomped it. I’m super happy.”
Mia Brookes pictured earlier in her snowboarding career when she became the Junior World Freestyle Snowboard Champion.
GB Snowsport head coach Pat Sharples said on gpsnowsport.com: “What Mia’s done is just next level. We’re all so stoked for her. We all know she’s got the talent, but this is her first season on the World Cup circuit and her first World Championships, so to land a run like that with all the pressure tells you everything you need to know about her.”
Britain’s new Gold medallist first took up snowboarding when she was only 18 months old while travelling around Europe in her family’s motorhome. She was scouted by GB Snowsport coaches at aged 10. There is another World Cup event in late March and if Brookes wins that she will have won the entire tour, taking home the Crystal Globe – the overall World Cup title.
Categories: Racing