Jenny Jones (snowboarder)

Jenny Jones
Jenny Jones
Jenny Jones at the podium of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Personal information
Born (1980-07-03) 3 July 1980 (age 44)
Bristol, England
Height5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Weight134 lb (61 kg)
Sport
CountryGreat Britain
SportSnowboarding
EventSlopestyle
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals2014 (3rd)
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Sochi Slopestyle
Winter X Games
Gold medal – first place 2009 Aspen Slopestyle
Gold medal – first place 2010 Aspen Slopestyle
Silver medal – second place 2011 Aspen Slopestyle
Winter X Games Europe
Gold medal – first place 2010 Tignes Slopestyle
New Zealand Winter Games
Silver medal – second place 2013 Cardrona Slopestyle

Jenny Jones (born 3 July 1980) is a British professional snowboarder[1] who became the first Briton to win an Olympic medal in a snow event after winning bronze in slopestyle at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.[2][3][4][5]

Early life

Jones was born in Downend, Bristol. She attended The Ridings High School, a large secondary school located in the village of Winterbourne in South Gloucestershire. Having competed in athletics (400m, long jump, cross country) and gymnastics at school, at age 17 she learnt to ski on the dry ski slope in Churchill, Somerset, after they offered free skiing lessons.[6]

Career

After leaving college Jones spent a season working as a chalet maid in Tignes, France, beginning a cycle of snowboarding in the winter and surfing in the summer in Devon and Cornwall, which she funded via part-time jobs including inspecting cardboard in a factory and teaching fencing to children.

Jones won the X Games USA Gold in 2009 and 2010, and the X Games

Europe Gold in 2010. In August 2013 Jones scored her first podium finish in a round of the FIS Snowboard World Cup, winning a silver in slopestyle in the 2013–14 season opening meeting in New Zealand.[7]

On 9 February 2014 she finished third behind Jamie Anderson and Enni Rukajärvi to win a bronze medal in the women's slopestyle event at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.[2][8]

In recognition of her achievements for British Snowsports, the Ski Club of Great Britain awarded her the Pery Medal in 2014.

In October 2014 she started presenting Jenny Jones' Extreme, a monthly radio series for BBC Radio 5 Live showcasing extreme sports.[9] In December 2014 she was announced as one of the coaches for the second series of Channel 4's celebrity winter sports competition The Jump.[10]

As of 2022 she is retired from competition, and presents on BBC Ski Sunday while also holding snowboarding workshops. She also covered the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing for the BBC.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Jenny Jones". British Ski and Snowboarding. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Jenny Jones wins snowboard slopestyle bronze medal at Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics". The Daily Telegraph. London. 9 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  3. ^ "Sochi 2014: Jenny Jones wins historic British slopestyle bronze". BBC Sport. 9 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  4. ^ UPDATE 1-Olympics-Snowboarding-Snow joke – Britain wins a medal at last | Reuters
  5. ^ "Emotional Jones collects bronze and earns place in history". TEAM GB. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  6. ^ "Jenny Jones – the story of an Olympic medallist". BBC Sport. 9 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  7. ^ "Jenny Jones wins slopestyle silver for Britain at World Cup". BBC Sport. 19 August 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  8. ^ "Sochi 2014: Jenny Jones relishes historic bronze medal for GB". BBC Sport. 9 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  9. ^ "Jenny Jones' Extreme – new on Radio 5 live". BBC. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  10. ^ "C4 announces the line-up of daring celebs in training for The Jump". channel4.com. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Jenny Jones - Interview with a British Snowboard Legend". dryrobe Europe. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2023.