TOM FARROW won snowboarding silver at the inaugural English National Boardercross Championships in Manchester, writes Ian Hillman.
The 24-year-old University of York graduate, who has set his sights firmly on competing for Great Britain in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, was narrowly beaten in the final by fellow GB team member Kyle Wise.
Boardercross is a fast, downhill snowboard race, over a twisting, banked course including jumps, half-pipes and gaps, usually contested by four to six riders.
Farrow said: “It’s fast, dramatic, with lots of spills and crashes. Outdoor races can last up to a minute-and-a-half, with the focus on speed and getting ‘air’ over the features.”
The indoor event at Manchester’s Chill Factor-E saw each heat contested by two boarders going head-to-head. “It was a pretty long day, starting at 9.30am with the time trials, in which I qualified third,” said Farrow.
“The championship final didn’t run until 8.30pm.”
Farrow won through to that final after an exciting heat against British Snowboard Cross team rival Myles McNeany.
“Myles qualified in second, and so had the choice to start the semi-final from the inside gate. The only way I could win was to overtake him around the outside on the first bend.” Farrow held his line, eventually forcing his opponent to ‘wipe-out’.
Despite narrowly losing the final to Wise, Farrow was thrilled by his silver medal.
Farrow has benefited from the specialised training offered at the recently-constructed York Sport Village at Grimston Bar.
He said: “To be successful in boardercross, you need tremendous lower body strength. My strength and conditioning coach, Pete Ashcroft, has designed me a regime especially for competitive boarding.”
Farrow’s next target is the Britain Championships this September, again to be held in Manchester.
He is aiming to amass enough competitive points to be able to join the World Cup circuit – a year-round competition with events in several countries around the globe.
On his prospects of making the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, he said: “Preparation for international competition is a four-year cycle. I’m aiming for 2018. It’s unlikely, but should I be picked for Sochi next year, then why not?”
Financial support for competitive snowboarding in the UK is virtually nil, and Farrow has had to find his own sponsors and is otherwise entirely self-funded.
“Outdoor races are the real competition, and the nearest events are all in Europe,” he said.
Farrow funded his own trip to the Swiss national championships to gain international outdoor experience.
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