Mitchell's Story
At the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games, snowboarder Mitch Allan was the youngest member of the Australian team, at 18 years of age. Despite his inexperience and some serious injuries in the two seasons leading into Torino, Allan produced the best two runs of his career. In the first qualification run he produced an impressive set of tricks in a clean run, but his amplitude was not particularly big.
In the second run he went high and was heading for a place close to the 12-man finals when he clipped the edge of the pipe on his last hit of the second run. Despite the last minute mistake, the Jindabyne rider was delighted with the second run and his first Olympic experience. He placed 31st from 44 riders and ahead of his more experienced and higher profile team-mates. Allan will be one to watch in the lead-up to Vancouver 2010.
