Evan Strong: My memorable moments from 2017

“I’m so stoked on those two wins in the snowboard-cross and the banked slalom .... I worked really hard for them all season..."

Motivated after claiming his first World Para Snowboard World Cup crystal globe, the USA’s Evan Strong now targets double gold at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.

The 30-year-old won the men’s snowboard-cross SB-LL2 World Cup in the 2016/17 season and also claimed silver at the Big White 2017 World Championships in Canada.

Here are three moments that stood out to him in 2017:

1. Win an able-bodied national championship

“This was a huge moment for me. It’s been a dream since I started competing to blur the line between disable and able. This happened to be the last race of my season. And not only that, I had to sit out the adaptive nations [event] the previous weekend due to being very sick, the first sick day I have had to take in my whole career.”

2. Win two crystal globes

“I’m so stoked on those two wins in the snowboard-cross and the banked slalom .... I worked really hard for them all season, not missing a race and doing my very best with whatever the snow and competition had to throw at me. These where tinged with one of my worst memories, giving up the lead I had sustained all winter in the finals of banked slalom in South Korea. I ended up second. I had gone into the season just wanting one crystal globe, but it would have been amazing to triple that goal.”

3. Disappointment from PyeongChang 2018 Test Event

“I think that most of my season’s disappointment is summed up in that one place. I had really high hopes for the course and the hosting country for the Games. The people and the food were awesome, but the course was a challenge for me. The course set up didn’t allow me to generate the speed that I am used to and on race day, I decided to race conservatively. I hope that they are able to tweak the course to better suit my racing style.”

PyeongChang 2018 will take place from 9-18 March 2018 and feature 10 snowboard medal events in men’s and women’s snowboard-cross and banked slalom.