ZOE PODIUMS AT WORLD CUP FINALS

 

British Olympic snowboarder Zoe Gillings ended her 08/09 season in style yesterday by taking 3^rd place in the Italian World Cup Finals held in Valmalenco despite suffering a terrible mid air collision in the semi final which saw Zoe suffer a painful head and arm  injury and her opponent taken away by helicopter for medical attention.

 

 

Zoe started the competition as she meant to go on by qualifying in 4^th position earning her a solid lane choice in the heats. Zoe progressed with ease through her first heat yesterday in 2^nd position taking her through to the semi finals. Zoe then faced a tough semi final as she was against the 2006 Turin Olympic champion, Tanja Frieden(SUI), World No 4 Dominique Maltaise (CAN) and Nobbs (SUI).  Zoe came out of the start in 3^rd position but quickly fought her way into a qualifying 2^nd place passing Nobbs (SUI) in the process,  Nobbs wasn’t going to give up though and quickly came back at Zoe. During the ferocious battle for second place both athletes suffered a serious mid air collision over one of the jumps in the course resulting in both taking hard impacts to the ground. After a short delay, with a suspected broken arm and blood running down her face Zoe got back on her feet and finished the semi final in second position ensuring her place in the Final if she was fit to compete. Despite the crash, Zoe knocked the current Olympic Champion out of the competition in the process.

 

 

After receiving medical attention to stem the bleeding from her eye and medical opinion on her arm, Zoe decided to compete in the final. Despite a slow start due to her injured arm, Zoe quickly moved up to 3^rd place where she remained for the entirety of the race. Zoe commented at the bottom of the course, “I’m hurting pretty bad now but I’m stoked I came 3^rd, I managed to stay on my feet which I was worried about as I was feeling shaky at the start. I’m happy I have finished the season with a podium.”

 

        

Zoe has had an impressive season reaching 4 World Cup finals out of 8 competitions and with this result in Italy, Zoe has now finished the 2008/09 season ranked 5^th in the World. Zoe will now be focussing on the winter Olympics in Vancouver where she is Britain’s best chance of an Olympic Snowsport medal; in the past two races alone Zoe has beaten both the World Champion and Olympic Champion.

 

Zoe continued, “I have had a solid season, I’ve had a few set backs with injuries but on the whole I’m happy with my progress.  This wouldn’t have been possible without my sponsors but especially Pokerstars and Nike as they provide a great amount of invaluable support for my training and competition.”

 

Zoe visited the local Italian hospital where her arm was X-rayed but found to be in one piece and head injury treated; Zoe was released later that night.