Olympics

Billy Morgan: Winter Olympic bronze medallist turns into a stunt man

But 14 months after his bronze medal in the snowboard huge air at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, his podium success has led him to a modeling agreement, VIP visitor appearances, including an experience at the football World Cup. In Russia – or even running as a stunt, man! The 30-year-old has simply returned from filming a British TV series in Romania. “I am now not allowed to inform you all the details; however, I can screen it’s no longer the brand new James Bond film,” he informed BBC Sport. “But I changed into a stunt double in a snow scene in which I am chased by people on snowmobiles. It changed into tremendously amusing, but how random is that, that I got to do it?”

After his medal triumph, Morgan determined to take the season off from aggressive skiing and has yet to verify whether or not he’ll commit to the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. He has been driving for fun this season, or even decided to try his hand at snowboardcross in the British Championships, which might be being held this week in Laax, Switzerland, and which he received.

“I’m not used to racing against others. It changed into a piece of pushing and shoving; however, I somehow managed to make it out alive and across the finish line. I loved it, but I might not be switching to boardercross,” he stated. Beijing would be his third Winter Games, and he has till the 18-month qualifying period opens in August 2021 to make a final selection. “I’m nonetheless no longer 100% positive,” he said. “I’m leaning towards now, not in the intervening time. I watched an occasion lately and concept I’d clearly get Fomo (worry of missing out); however, I didn’t, and that is a touching sign for me.” Morgan, who most effectively began snowboarding at the age of 14 at a dry slope in Southampton, burst onto the scene when he entered the Brits in 2010 and won the big air. “I have been operating the ski season in Morzine in France, and a few friends have been going to the Brits, and there was an area within the vehicle, so I went alongside,” he recalled.

Having competed in acrobatics to an extreme stage as a baby, learning snowboard tricks came naturally with his natural aerial awareness. “No one knew who I turned into; however, I rocked up and received the Brits with a double backflip,” he said. That overall performance caused him to be invited onto the British crew at a time whilst freestyle became embraced with the aid of the International Olympic Committee, who introduced slopestyle to the 2014 Winter Olympics program and massive air in 2018.

Morgan, who’s liable for two international firsts – a quad cork 1800 and a triple frontside rodeo 1440, stated: “I by no means aimed for the Olympics. I preferred snowboarding and doing tricks. But, being on the British crew and competing supposed I should make a profession out of it.” “It changed into perfect timing. I changed into round while slopestyle, and then big air was introduced into the Olympics.” So, how frequently has he watched his medal-winning moment? “I handiest watched it for the primary time a couple of months in the past because I’m inside the system of writing my autobiography,” Morgan stated. Looking again, I was pretty fortunate to win the medal. The different riders pushed too hard, whereas Hamish [McKnight, head coach] and I played it tactically with the tricks I did – and thankfully for me, it paid off.”

Randy Montgomery

Hardcore pop culture trailblazer. Music junkie. Troublemaker. Twitter fan. Travel nerd. Tv guru. Snowboarder, dreamer, DJ, Swiss design-head and identity designer. Performing at the sweet spot between minimalism and intellectual purity to create not just a logo, but a feeling. Let's make every day A RAZZLE-DAZZLE MUSICAL.

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