After the Winter Olympics and the globes, the Winter X Games is simply one of the vital essential days on the wintertime sporting actions schedule. It’s a competitor that seeks to press the restrictions of strategies, with motorcyclists daring to go bigger. More than that, you might want to acquire welcomed to take part. For Annika Morgan, Germany’s movie star snowboarder, that’s merely one purpose that these rivals matter loads.
“Only eight girls are in slope style [a downhill event, usually with a variety of obstacles in which athletes are awarded points for originality and trick quality]and there’s like three alternates, I think so it’s just 11 girls that are actually there. And when you compare that to a World Cup, where there are 30 girls competing and it’s everyone from all around the world, it’s just such a big deal to even be at the X Games,” Morgan, that’s meaning to medal, knowledgeable DW .
The event, which has really been stored in Aspen, Colorado contemplating that 2002, is the place the enrollers come, brand-new tools will get on program and the events get on in benches. It could not be the Olympics, but it’s a well-known event within the snowboarding neighborhood.
Morgan is the youngest of 5 brother or sisters. She began quantity skating when she was 2, finishing at 4 and did it critically up till she was 15. But it was snowboarding that gained her over, and by 16 she was reasonably priced. The 22-year-old has really taken her board all through the globe, successful silver on the younger folks Olympics previous to getting the Olympics in 2022. In Beijing, she protected a top-10 place in each the Big Air (a downhill event, usually with one large dive to hold out a method) and slopestyle events. At in 2014’s X Games, she ended up second within the Knuckle Huck (a variant on Big Air but with much more risk to aim fashionable strategies).
Tricks and techno
But, in contrast to a lot of 22-year-old celebrities, Morgan is considerably not specified by her snowboarding.
“Yes, snowboarding is my life, but if I ever have to quit or something, I don’t want it to be super depressing for me because then I lose snowboarding. I also want to have something else in my life. Figure skating is also a really big thing in my life, and it’s nice to have a little balance between snowboarding and my normal day-to-day life, because my life really circles around snowboarding all the time I’m traveling and always thinking about snowboarding when I’m home. And it’s also nice to just let loose and have DJing, for example, and kind of nerd out about that with my brother and have fun,” said Morgan, whose sibling is more than likely to Aspen, the place they’re meaning to DJ with one another on the after celebration.
Beyond the songs, Morgan additionally has really serviced a YouTube Series referred to as Meet the Morgans, wherein her family and snowboarding experiences get on show display. Her residence city of Mittenwald, in Bavaria, can be on show display which German heritage, previous her love for techno songs, stays along with her wherever she goes.
“I’m very fortunate that I grew up in such a beautiful place, and a cultural place too. “I think Mittenwald is such a picture perfect town and I’m so blessed that I got to grow up in a culture like that,” Morgan said. “For example, this year was the first time in like a couple years that we had a beer tent and it was such a big deal, and everyone got dressed up in the dirndl and the lederhosen, and it was just so much fun to express that.”
Community and rivals
Snowboarding is coming to be considerably reasonably priced, but it had not been consistently on this approach.
“It’s really nice to just hang out and then you’re also competing against them, but you’re also stoked for them when they land or if they’re on the podium. I feel like it has changed a little bit throughout the years “, a little bit a lot more affordable with all the brand-new ladies can be found in. They’re a little bit more youthful and currently I seem like I’m extremely “old in the snowboarding circuit, although I’m not,” she said.
“It’s definitely different than four years ago. There’s also way fewer snowboarders that I grew up snowboarding with. “It’s just more younger kids coming in. I still hope it will be as it was for me, because it was very special and not many sports have that.”
Morgan is somewhat bit much more cool at present than 4 years again. Even if she intends to medal on the X Games and get authorised for the Olympics in Milan, the 22-year-old resides proper now much more.
“I’m just soaking it in,” she said. “I don’t have any goals because I don’t like to claim stuff. I don’t like to claim, ‘Oh yeah, I want to win there.’ Because if it doesn’t happen, then I’m just going to be more disappointed.”
Nevertheless, the lively routine continues to be. Morgan will definitely stay in Aspen for 3 weeks, for the X Games and the World Cup that complies with. Then she’ll have a very long time off previous to she returns to Calgary, Alberta, previous to the World Cup cycle begins as soon as once more. Wherever she winds up, she’ll impend in a way couple of can consider.
“You’re just there, floating, and your body’s doing whatever it needs it to do,” said Morgan, when requested what it looks like to be a snowboarder.
“I rely on muscle memory and hope that it works out. It’s not about memorizing stuff for me. It’s just about doing it and hoping for the best outcome.”
Edited by Chuck Penfold
