World champion snowboarder Scotty James believes Australia will be “a force to be reckoned with” at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics after being unveiled as opening ceremony flagbearer.
On the same day he delivered a broadside to judges in his halfpipe discipline, the 23-year-old was named by chef de mission Ian Chesterman to carry the flag in the Games showpiece on Friday evening.
James will be competing in his third Games and is a strong medal chance after dominating the discipline in the past two years, with an Olympic showdown with all-conquering American Shaun White looming.
He has taken comfort in not being alone as a medal contender for Australia, with around eight of his compatriots expected to genuinely push for the podium.
“The Australian team is a force to be reckoned with this time around and we’ve got some top medal contenders,” James told AAP.
“It’s going to be a really good games for Australia.
“I’m just excited to get into the halfpipe myself, as well as cheer on the rest of my teammates.”
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Chesterman lauded James as an athlete who had “represented us with success right about the world”.
Other contenders for the flagbearer’s job, moguls world champion Britt Cox and medal-winning aerials skiers David Morris and Lydia Lassila, withdrew from the opening ceremony to concentrate on their events.
James will become the third snowboarder after Torah Bright and Alex Pullin to carry the flag.
The Victorian first competed in an Olympics aged 15 in Vancouver as a last minute addition to the team, finishing 15th before again missing the final in Sochi.
He lauded the progression of Australian winter sports amid expectations of our most successful ever Winter Olympics.
“Our time comes every four years for us to show what we’re passionate about, what we work hard for from a young age,” James said.
“Australian winter sport is heading in a very healthy direction. I think it’s only going to get better.”
Earlier, James suggested White was overscored when the two-time gold medallist narrowly beat him in a recent World Cup event in the US.
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“The biggest thing that frustrated me is that I have been working my whole life and I put my life on the line every day snowboarding and I work so hard and some silly people behind the desk dictate some score which is really frustrating for me sometimes,” he said.
