Valentino Guseli

Fast Facts

Sport: Snowboard
Event: Halfpipe
Olympic History: Beijing 2022
Highlights: Halfpipe air world record holder, 6th at Beijing 2022
Year Born: 2005
State Born: ACT

About Valentino

Valentino Guseli has achieved so much that few can lay claim to having done as a teenager.

In March 2021 he broke a halfpipe air world record that stood for 11 years, which was held by snowboard legend Shaun White (USA). Valentino flew a never before seen 7.3 metres in the air.

Read more about Valentino’s rise to the global stage here. 

He was able to call himself an Olympian before his 17th birthday and while it may appear that Valentino became an overnight sensation, the snowboarder has been on the winter sporting radar for years - steadily shredding his way to the top since he was a toddler.

From Dalmeny on the NSW South Coast, when he was seven Valentino began training under snowboard coach Mike Lund in Vermont, USA. At 11 years-old Valentino became the youngest ever to perform a double backflip.

As his talent grew, with training and competition requiring more time and international travel, Valentino's Nonno, Guido, built a custom jump to allow his grandson to train in his own backyard to spend less time away from family.

His performance in the 2019 US Open Junior Jam at Vail, Colorado was nothing short of impressive. Valentino dominated the field to take home a gold medal with a score of 96.99 points, more than four points clear of his nearest rival. He’d won silver at this event in 2018.

The win at the 2019 US Open Junior Jam meant Valentino had done enough to enter open age events against the best riders in the world, including his superstar Australian teammate Scotty James. However, he had to wait until his 15th birthday due to minimum age requirements.

As Valentino’s snowboarding repertoire continues to grow, he’s said he wants to become known for his innovation and creativity.

He turned a few heads in 2021, the year he made his International Ski Federation World Cup and World Championships debut. In his first World Cup event he beat Olympians and World Champions to qualify first for the finals and finished 8th overall at the 2021 Laax World Cup. At the Aspen World Championships two months later he finished 11th.

Valentino started 2022 with a 13th place finish at the Mammoth Mountain World Cup and 5th at the Laax World Cup.

In Beijing 2022 qualifying he was fifth best with a score of 85.75, comfortably proceeding to the final.

Valentino showed great consistency to post three clean and strong runs in the final. He earned a strong score of 75.75 to start, then posted back-to-back scores of 79.75 to close the competition in sixth place.

The performance made Valentino the only Australian ever under 18 years of age to crack the top 10 at the Winter Olympics in any sport.