Iouri Podladtchikov and his (nightmare) dream of the Olympics
Four years ago in Sochi, he put the entire competition in the shade with a dream run. And this year's X-Games in Aspen were supposed to be a successful dress rehearsal for the halfpipe artist. But everything turned out differently. Now the Olympics will be a race against time for the "iPod".
With the "Yolo flip", a double backflip including a quadruple twist, the Zurich winter sports athlete once catapulted himself to the snowboarding Olympics. He performed his self-created jump in the second run at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Russia and deservedly won the gold medal. At the X-Games in Aspen in January of this year, he crashed, injured himself and now fears for the Olympics.
The day after
The scans in hospital showed no major brain or neck injuries. Fortunately. Otherwise the snowboard crack would definitely have had to bury all his hopes for South Korea. The accomplished racer was lucky in misfortune: the fall looked worse to outsiders than it really was. Nevertheless, it came at the stupidest possible time. His coach remained realistic: "I can't possibly say whether this fall means he's out of the Olympics." Iouri reacted in his own style: "hello everyone! thank you so much for all the messages, i am so sorry for the mess of yesterday... i am doing ok, thank you @XGames for takin care of me and congratulations to Ayumu for his win!", he wrote on Twitter.
The cursed double backside alley-oop rodeo
This is the name of the trick that seems to be jinxed for Podladtchikov. Back at the World Championships in March 2017 in Sierra Nevada, he penalised himself for his risk and suffered a torn cruciate ligament. He recovered and got back on the board. And anyone who saw him in the halfpipe in recent weeks thought to themselves: better than ever, this guy. The form was right, Iouri seemed ready for PyeongChang. But at the X-Games in Aspen, his tongue twister once again proved to be his undoing. A broken nose, a concussion and an anxious wait - souvenirs that he was reluctant to bring back from the States.
Юрий Юрьевич Подладчиков
He has many mementos and memories. And most of them are positive. 1988 in Podolsk in the former Soviet Union, his family emigrated in 1992. The journey took the Podladtchikovs first to Sweden, then to the Netherlands. They finally settled in Switzerland in 1996. When he made his debut in the halfpipe at the tender age of 14, he did so as a Russian. He was naturalised in Switzerland in 2007 and from then on identified himself with the white cross on a red background. Subsequent attempts by the Russian federation to bring the talented youngster back failed.
Facts and figures
- 184 cm tall
- Weighs 82 kg
- 29 years young
- 13 podium finishes in the World Cup (3x gold, 5x silver, 5x bronze)
- 7 X-Games medals (1x gold, 4x silver, 2x bronze)
- 4 snowboard world championship medals (2x gold, 2x silver)
- 1 Olympic medal (1x gold)
We rock together, we roll together
If the cheeky Swiss rider can't find any snow, he grabs his skateboard and hits the streets of his favourite city. Many snowboard pros switch to a smaller board with wheels in summer - it's logical, the parallels are hard to deny. However, this is only possible if you are healthy and not in hospital. Unless your name is Iouri Podladtchikov. Only he manages to get back on a wakeboard two months after tearing his cruciate ligament or race around on an electric scooter on holiday. A hot-blooded daredevil in flesh and blood, blessed with talent. Incidentally, he only knows about standing still from hearsay. He is also a passionate photographer. And has a knack for fashion.
The Yank and the Japanese
Two big names could benefit from Podladtchikov's injury: Shaun White,
who managed the extraordinary 100-point run for only the second time in January, and the young Ayumu Hirano. Although profiteers is the wrong word here. Because the snowboarders are a tight-knit unit. Logically, they are rivals in the halfpipe, because everyone wants to be the best. But even there, they applaud when a competitor has conjured up a dream run. They are happy with him and for him. And it is an honest, genuine joy. A joy that is hard to find in today's age of better, bigger and more expensive.
You only live twice
Podladtchikov is not alone in his fate: David Hablützel is also worried about his participation in the Olympics. And he too should be a hot commodity in the Swiss delegation, which has 125 athletes competing for the medals in PyeongChang. Iouri knows how to do it. I'm not talking about winning a gold medal. But to perform a miracle cure. Because he has already done it once. After tearing his cruciate ligament in Spain in the spring, he feared he would only be able to watch PyeongChang on TV. Nobody would have thought it possible that he would compete at the 2018 X Games. Nor that he would injure himself again there.
I'm risking my life right now and have two options: If I abort the jump, I'm a sissy. If I don't, I'll fall. But if I abort now, I take all hope away from people. There's zero chance of me standing this jump, but if I don't believe in it now, I won't believe in it at the Olympics either.
Hope this last
What about PyeongChang? They don't know. They are the doctors. It's the physiotherapists, the coaches and the rest of the staff. But we, we know. We, that's the fans. We, that's his team-mates. And we are Iouri himself. Because anyone who has followed the career of this indestructible all-rounder also knows about his fighting spirit and irrepressible will. He doesn't let anything get him down. He gives setbacks the middle finger and usually shows his competitors the underside of his snowboard. That's where his logo is, nothing else. It takes more than an injury to silence the "iPod".
When I'm not stuffing my face with sweets, you'll catch me running around in the gym hall. I’m a passionate floorball player and coach. On rainy days, I tinker with my homebuilt PCs, robots or other gadgets. Music is always my trusted companion. I also enjoy tackling hilly terrain on my road bike and criss-crossing the country on my cross-country skis.