Dual Winter Olympian Belle Brockhoff sat down with the Olympic Channel to reflect on her career to date as a trailblazer in Australian snowboard cross. Belle talks about the highs of her career but also the lows, when snowboarding became her saviour.
Appearing as part of the Winter Tracks series, the 28-year-old shares why she broke the family tradition of competing in skiing to pursuit success in snowboard cross.
Belle’s great uncle Peter Brockhoff represented Australia in alpine skiing at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics, while her great aunt Joyce Brockhoff was an Australian champion skier.
Described by her snowboard cross coach Harald Benselin as “one of the best snowboarders I have ever seen,” Belle Brockhoff is no stranger to fighting setbacks.
She casts her mind back to a run of bad luck with injuries, which threatened to leave her unfit for PyeongChang 2018 and tested the strength of her mental health, where snowboarding 'saved her life'.
Watch the video featuring Belle Brockhoff below.
After competing in more than 40 World Cups, Brockhoff’s career has inspired more female Australian snowboard cross athletes to make it through the ranks.
17-year-old Mia Clift and 18-year-old Josie Baff both travel the world competing in snowboard cross events and take inspiration from Brockhoff’s years of leading the way.
Brockhoff has enjoyed a strong start to the 2021-22 World Cup snowboard cross season to sit third in the world rankings. She closed 2021 with back-to-back podium finishes in Austria and Italy.
The Winter Tracks series follows six athletes with unique backgrounds, all chasing a shared dream as they prepare for Beijing 2022.
