Jarryd Hughes

Fast Facts

Sport: Snowboard
Event: Men's Snowboard Cross
Olympic History: Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018, Beijing 2022
Highlights: Silver at PyeongChang 2018, 2021 World Mixed Teams Champion, 2016 X Games Champion
Year Born: 1995
State Born: NSW

About Jarryd

Jarryd Hughes first made his mark on the international snowboard circuit at his World Cup debut in 2012, where at just 17 years-old he placed seventh in a highly contested field. Jarryd went on to claim silver at the Junior World Championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain.

The following year Jarryd made his World Championships debut where he placed an impressive 11th. A month later he underwent his first of six knee surgeries.

After missing the Australian domestic season due to injury, Jarryd came back for the 2013-14 World Cup. At the first event of the season Jarryd finished in 8th position, before he went on to win his first World Cup gold at Lake Louise, Canada.

Competing at his first Winter Olympics in Sochi, Jarryd was ranked number two in the world on the International Ski Federation World Cup rankings. Luck was not on his side in his quarter-final race after being knocked off balance by Germany’s Konstantin Schad, in a typical racing incident, for Jarryd to finish the event 17th overall.

Following Sochi, Jarryd won a gold medal at the 2016 Winter X Games held in Aspen, Colorado. At the event Jarryd led a historic 1-2 finish with teammate Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin. He was the first Australian to win a gold medal at the Winter X Games.

In December 2017, Jarryd claimed his second World Cup gold medal in Montafon, Austria. He went on to compete at his second Olympic Games at Pyeongchang, where he made history claiming the silver medal.

Jarryd came flying out of the start gate in the Olympic final and managed to hold on to second place despite athletes crashing. He crossed the line in second, claiming Australia’s first medal in snowboard cross.

The Closing Ceremony was a special occasion for Jarryd, as he was the Flag Bearer for Team Australia.

At the 2021 World Championships Jarryd etched more history, winning gold alongside teammate Belle Brockhoff in the inaugural snowboard cross team event.

After a fall at training on the Thredbo ski fields during the 2021 Australian winter, he required ankle surgery which was no certainty to be fully healed by the start of Beijing 2022.

Jarryd got to the start line at Beijing and found himself in the toughest 1/8 final, coming up against the world no.1 and the world champion. With just the top two going through in the 1/8 final, Jarryd did not progress to the quarter-final.