Whitelines: First of all, we’ve got to say huge congrats on last year’s Crystal Globe! That’s incredible anyway, let alone it being your comeback season. You podiumed at every stop, right?

Katie O: “Thank you, yeah, every stop at the World Cup I made the podium”

That’s an accolade in its own right, but even more impressively, Katie won the title just months after returning from a potentially career-ending injury. At just 20 years old, Katie was a strong medal contender at PyeongChang’s 2018 winter Olympics. Fully in the zone, she was pumped and ready for the games to commence, but in a midweek practice run, just days before the opening ceremony, she scuffed a landing and fractured her wrist.

“The road to recovery was long, with Katie having to re-learn how to walk unaided”

Determined to carry on despite the injury, Katie hit the course again the next day, this time taking a serious fall which ended up splitting her heel bone in half and scuppering her dreams of Olympic glory before they’d even properly begun. The road to recovery was long, with Katie having to re-learn how to walk unaided, and leaving her unsure if she’d ever compete again.

“It was pretty tough, it was a serious injury, I had to have 7 operations. I remained as positive as possible throughout the whole rehab and it did take a full year to recover from that. It was tough but I put in the effort, I was so determined to get back to snowboarding no matter what. Having that belief that I would get back to it really helped me when it got hard but mentally it was difficult. I didn’t know if it was going to end my career because it was a really bad injury, but I just kept pushing through and kept believing.”

 

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I guess Covid’s gonna affect a lot of travel and events going forward, but what’s the rest of your season looking like at the moment?

“Right now, I’m not too sure. I’m just playing it by ear and staying as strong as possible, so when I do know what’s happening, I’m ready. I’m hoping next season’s gonna be pretty good, they’ll be able to do more contests. I’m hoping by then COVID will have settled down a bit but for now I’m just focusing on the short-term bits and not really planning too far ahead cos I don’t really know what’s happening right now. But yeah, just staying as ready as possible.”

“I’m kind of used to everything now, it’s the new normal”

COVID restrictions mean less opportunities for athletes to compete in the run up to Beijing, piling on the pressure and upping the ante even more than usual. Strict measures have been put in place to ensure that athletes can compete safely over the next few months, with no crowds, stringent testing measures and limited capacity at events.

“There are no crowds at all this season because of COVID which is one thing I noticed. I’m kind of used to everything now, it’s the new normal. I felt really lucky to be out there at all doing the Olympic Qualifiers but there are a lot of safety measures in place so the comps can go ahead. Obviously, they want to keep everyone as safe as possible and COVID-free, so we’ve all got to get regular testing, wear masks everywhere, social distancing and each nation keeps to their own bubble”.

“It makes me feel good that we know they’re doing everything possible, we’re all in the same position like we all really want to compete which means that everyone’s being as safe as possible. It is really different, but I guess it’s good that we’re able to do this and still compete and train.”

With the next Winter Olympics less than a year away, training is in full swing for the Beijing hopefuls. Pushing their bodies to the limits, with long days on the hill and gruelling workouts, is all part and parcel in the life of an Olympic athlete.

“A lot of tricks are upside down and you need a lot of spacial awareness for that as well”

Getting your body ready for competition is a huge endeavour, what does a normal day of training look like for you?

“Well, a normal day when I’m away would be wake up early, go snowboarding all day from like 9-4 and that’s training for Slopestyle and Big Air, so on the jumps and the rails. The come down and maybe do a cool down or gym session. My gym sessions are mainly focused on legs and core strength so keeping all my body strong to prevent injuries but also to be as strong as possible so I can get more power on my snowboard.”

“Then I do gymnastics training as well, but that’s mostly in the summer months when we’re off snow and that’s because gymnastics goes hand in hand with snowboarding. We also have a gymnastics coach through GB Snowsports to help us with special awareness and strength. Now that snowboarding’s progressing so fast, a lot of tricks are upside down and you need a lot of spacial awareness for that as well.”

“It’s like doing a slip n slide on a cheese grater”

A similar story marks most British snowsports athletes, the majority fighting tooth and nail against the odds to make it to the world stage, despite not having the same advantages as many of their international rivals. Determination is not unique to snowboarders in the UK but it is particularly rife, the grit and tenacity that athletes have to display to make it to the top is staggering. Anyone who’s honed their craft on dryslope can attest to the fact that hitting the deck on it’s like doing a slip n slide on a cheese grater. Despite this, we’re seeing Team GB’s success story continue to grow.

GB Snowsport got a bit of an influx of funding a few years ago which seemed to really benefit the programme. It’s cool to see and surely good for you guys as athletes.

“Yeah, it’s amazing to get that support. It does really help, especially going forward into the Olympics. The way things are now, to train at the highest level you need to be going on these performance camps, but they’re not cheap. In order to stay at the top and keep challenging for podiums we need that funding to help us do that so we can train at the best facilities, you know the airbags and everything.”

We’ve seen a real explosion of talent among British youth recently, we’ve had some really good young riders coming up in the last few years, who should we be keeping our eyes on?

“Mia Brookes is the next one to watch for sure, she’ll be doing big stuff in the years to come!”

“I’m really proud of everything I’ve achieved in my career so far and I just want to keep challenging what I can do on a snowboard”

There’s a lot of talk at the moment about you becoming quite possibly the most successful British snowboarder in history, do you find that high pressure or are you just stoked to prove them right?

“I’m just more excited than anything, I’m really proud of everything I’ve achieved in my career so far and I just want to keep challenging what I can do on a snowboard and keep progressing myself and women’s riding. I’m just focusing on that really, I’m not feeling any pressure, I just wanna keep up with the contests and my snowboarding.”

 

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A dual threat athlete, Katie competes in Slopestyle and Big Air, different disciplines and skillsets but with similar threads running throughout. Aerial manoeuvres translate particularly well between the two disciplines, like Bronze Medal compatriot Billy Morgan, Katie’s background in gymnastics comes in handy for dialling in new tricks.

“I don’t really have a favourite; I enjoy both of them. I guess last season I won the Crystal Globe in Slopestyle but I also got a World Cup Podium in Big Air so I do enjoy them both!”

“Athletes are engaged in a constant game of one-upmanship, battling to be the first, the fastest, the best”

Double the events means double the competition, Katie consistently has to square up against heavyweights like Anna Gasser, Jamie Anderson and Zoi Sadowski- Synnott. Despite the obvious camaraderie between riders, having come up in the sport together, riding for the same sponsors and training together, competition is fierce. Athletes are engaged in a constant game of one-upmanship, battling to be the first, the fastest, the best.

Progression in snowboarding across the board is wild, but especially in the women’s sphere. It’s been awesome to see this huge step up in talent and skill and visibility. I mean it’s cool as a spectator, but how is it as a rider who has to compete against these women?

“I think everyone just focuses on the tricks that they’re doing and it’s amazing to see the progression in female snowboarding, and that I can be part of that is amazing. I was the first girl to land a double 1080 at 16 and since then the level has just been going up and up. It’s amazing for the sport and I enjoy being part of it and progressing myself. Everyone’s pushing it and doing the best they can.”

“I was the first girl to land a double 1080 at 16”

Despite being one of the newer sports to be included in the Winter Olympics, snowboarding is easily one of the most popular events of the whole games. Viewers tune in in their millions to watch the riders tear it up over the Slopestyle Course, through the Pipe and off the Big Air ramp.

Coming up to the Olympics again, and now snowboarding is one of the most popular sports at the Winter Games. Even people who don’t really follow snowboarding or have even been snowboarding really love to watch it and get behind it. Why do you think that is?

“I think it’s because it’s so exciting to watch. It’s pretty amazing we’re flying over these huge jumps doing crazy tricks in the air. For people at home it’s cool, especially in the UK you wouldn’t really see that anywhere. The progression at the moment is so good right now as well, everyone’s learning new tricks so I’m hoping people get really inspired from watching it at the Olympics and get more Brits involved.”

We’re stoked to see what Katie brings to the table over the coming season, and have every faith she’ll be doing the UK proud come Beijing. Thanks for the chat Katie, and good luck with it!

For more info on Katie check out her athlete profile on redbull.com