Cam Bolton will head into his third Olympic Winter Games full of confidence after claiming a bronze medal in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, the final World Cup event before the athlete’s head to Beijing.
Competing under lights in the first night snowboard cross event since 2018, Bolton qualified for finals in sixth place, and advanced through the head-to-head racing rounds comfortably with wins in the round of 32 and 16. Bolton crossed the finish line in second place in the semi-final to advance to his second big-final of the season.
In the big final, Bolton was in third place for most of the run, with Martin Noerl of Germany leading from start to finish and Alessandro Haemmerle of Austria close behind in second.
“Cortina has put on such an incredible show here, we are under lights, the weather is perfect, it’s a nice still night and we had some really tight and clean racing” said the 31-year-old from Melbourne.
“Really happy to come away with a podium and finish in third, and build some momentum coming into the games, so really looking forward to the opportunity to race in China in a couple of weeks and feeling good on a snowboard and can’t wait to get amongst it with all the boys and put down some fast laps.”
The medal was Bolton’s first of the season and fourth of his career and sees him move into sixth place on the World Cup standings.
Also in action for Australia was Adam Dickson, who finished in 20th place.
Several Australian Snowboard Cross team members elected not to compete in the event as they fine tune their preparation ahead of the Olympic Winter Games.
The snowboard cross athletes will remain in Europe for a few more days before flying into Beijing for the Opening Ceremony.
