Johnstone relishes chance to beat ‘Flying Tomato’
Print Edition
Four years after a broken left ankle caused him to miss the Vancouver Olympics, Australian halfpipe snowboarder Nathan Johnstone goes into February’s Sochi Games as one of the podium favorites along with “The Flying Tomato” — American Shaun White, who has won the last two gold medals.
So how did Johnstone help improve his medal chances in the mountains of Sochi? In a more abstract case of sleeping with the enemy, the 2011 halfpipe world champion took a training session with White’s coach, Bud Keene.
“It wasn’t so much helping me out in particular,” Johnstone said.
Keene “ran a progression camp at Mammoth Mountain in California with a bunch of other athletes, a range of different skiers including halfpipe and skicrossers,” Johnstone said. “It was a great chance to break up my normal training routine and train alongside some really strong competitors like Japanese Olympian Ryo Aono.”
Still, Johnstone tried to extract as much as he could from the sessions.
“There was no private training involved, but it was great to have worked with him,” he said. “He’s one of the greatest coaches in this sport. I tried to pick his brain, to hear what he had to say. I’m still on a learning curve.”
That curve was derailed just four weeks before the Vancouver Olympics when Johnstone broke his ankle in an air bag training session.
“It was a big disappointment for me back then, but I learned a lot from it and it gave me a lot of motivation and drive for the following season,” he said. “It really put me in a good place.”
Just 12 months later, Johnstone won the 2011 FIS World Cup Crystal Globe for leading the halfpipe season standings and the overall freestyle Crystal Globe. White did not compete in the finals that year.
“I had a great 2011 season and I’m still continuing that roll,” Johnstone said. “Hopefully I’ll stay fit and healthy for Russia and get a good result there.”
Johnstone’s coach, Ben Alexander, says his athlete has been working hard ahead of the Olympics in Sochi, where another Australian, Torah Bright, will be defending her gold medal in the women’s halfpipe.
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