The world of snowboarding abounds with many skilled and adventurous snowboarders. Over the years, they have caught the attention of fans worldwide with their acts. As a result, they have a large number of followers today. This has also contributed to the popularity of this winter sport. These exceptional snowboarders dedicate a lot of time and effort to their chosen sport.
One of their greatest qualities is that they keep going despite the possibilities of injuries during competitions and practice. Some of them have even been seriously injured during their performance but came back much stronger. Here, we’ve listed some of the famous snowboarders of recent times:
1. Todd Richards
Born on the 28th of December 1969 in Paxton, Massachusetts, Todd Richards is a legendary name in snowboarding. He is an influential freestyle snowboarder who helped introduce the ‘skate style’. This happened at a time when snowboarding was influenced mainly by alpine racing events.
He grew up skateboarding on the East Coast. He used his skills on the four wheels to ride a halfpipe of snow. Todd has had many victories during his career. They include the US Open halfpipe titles, World Championship firsts, and X Games gold medals.
2. Terje Haakonsen
He is undoubtedly a legend among all the snowboarders. Many fans believe that Haakonsen deserves to be in the number one spot. Terje was born on the 11th of October 1974 in Vinje, Norway. He has dominated competitive snowboarding all through the 1990s. During this period, he also won numerous competitions and was an ISF world champion three times.
He has also been the European Champ five times and the Mount Baker Banked Slalom 7 times. He displayed some amazing snowboarding skills on the big mountains as well. He became a regular on the British Columbian and Alaskan mountains. He rode the paths that very few snowboarders could ever dream of.
3. Shannon Dunn-Downing
She won a gold medal at California’s first Winter X Games in 1997 and again in 2001. Shannon was born on the 26th of November 1972. She started snowboarding in 1988 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, which is also the place where she grew up. Shannon began competing in the early 1990s.
Over the decade and in 2001, she became the first woman to perform many difficult halfpipe tricks in competition. They included a frontside and backside 540, Mctwist, frontside 720, and frontside rodeo 720. She retired from professional snowboarding in the mid-2000s to focus on her family.
4. Shaun White
A renowned personality in the snowboarding world, Shaun has earned two gold medals in the Olympics. He was born in 1986 in San Diego, California. He developed an interest in skateboarding at an early age and tasted great success in it as well. He won gold medals back to back in the Superpipe competition. This is one of his greatest achievements in the realm of snowboarding.
He is often referred to as ‘The Flying Tomato’. Shaun got this nickname owing to his ability to reach tremendous heights during competitions and his red hair. His sponsors include Red Bull, AT&T, and Target. He has also been sponsored by Burton Snowboards and Oakley Goggles.