#EarnTheFern: Jamie Prebble

If you’ve never watched a ski cross race before, put it on the must-see list for the PyeongChang 2018 Games, and be prepared for a truly heart-in-your-mouth experience. Jamie Prebble is New Zealand’s first Olympian in this fast-paced, action-packed discipline. He gives us an insight into a sport which involves the excitement, speed and thrill of racing against three other people at 80 km/hr and just millimetres apart.

“You feel so alive!” says Jamie. “You have so much adrenaline pumping through your body and are so focused purely on the race track ahead of you. You are deep in the zone!”

Ski cross is a unique combination of alpine and freestyle disciplines. It is a timed racing event, but the course incorporates the kind of features you’d expect to see in freestyle, including jumps, rollers and high-banked turns. 

“I love all the different elements that you need to be fast in ski cross,” says Jamie. “You need the skills of alpine, jumping, and the ability to think fast and clear while having no fear. It has everything!” 

The “having no fear” part is crucial.

 “Sometimes you are literally skiing on top of each other’s skis!” Jamie tells us. “Occasionally you get down to the bottom of your run and there are bits of plastic hanging off the top of your ski where another athlete’s edge has taken a chunk out of your skis.

“It definitely keeps it interesting when you are so close to each other at high speeds but that makes it so great to watch.”

In the Olympic format, athletes boost out of the start gate four at a time and battle to hold the fastest line all the way to the finish. As Jamie explains, “the race is never over until you cross that finish line.” 

“Starts are very important in ski cross to get out in front and then be able to ski your own race,” but even this is no guarantee of success, with your fellow competitors looking for any opportunity to pass, using the wind drafting and by skiing different race lines.

“You are always thinking two steps ahead if someone changes line how that will then affect you and hopefully avoid some carnage!”

That feeling of someone “breathing down your neck” is real.

“You do sense where your other competitors are through the shadows and by hearing them,” explains Jamie.

It may sound like the kind of thing bad dreams are made of, but Jamie says that’s all part of the training. “You try and focus on the process to ski fast and not worry about possible nightmares!

Like any sport, being a successful ski cross racer involves hours and hours of training. 

 You need to have all the many elements in a prime state,” explains Jamie. “Physically there is a huge amount of prep involved all year round to be explosive and strong, and mental prep is equally important as often it is the mental edge that is the difference to making it on the podium. It’s the hours of prep behind closed doors that count.”

Jamie knows all about being tested to the limit. His journey to qualifying for PyeongChang 2018 involved winning a silver medal at the 2017 World Champs but it was by no means an easy feat.

“That was a day I will never forget. I gave that race every last ounce of physical and mental energy while fighting a stomach bug and to have everything come together and end up on the podium was very special.” 

So, what will it mean to Jamie when he stands in the start gate in PyeongChang? 

“Ever since my childhood I wanted to compete at the Olympics so to have it come true after a long journey of hard work is a lifetime dream coming to reality! I can’t wait to represent New Zealand and make the country proud.”