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PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympian Miguel Porteous says he still gets nervous as he prepares to drop into the halfpipe.  

“Pretty much every day I go skiing I get some sort of nerves, but that's just part of it. You've got to overcome the nerves to get results,” says Miguel. 

The 22-year-old freeski halfpipe athlete is working towards qualification and selection for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, which are being held in Beijing from February 4-20th. He’s spent most of the year at home in Wānaka where he’s been skiing and working on his mental and physical strength. 

“Landing a trick is 100-percent mind over matter. You've got to believe that you can do it and you’ve got to be confident in your ability, then even if you're really scared, you can still be confident that you're going to land it.” 

Miguel has been skiing since he could walk and has racked up a series of impressive results, including a silver medal at the 2017 X-Games. 

“I just enjoy that you get to push yourself and scare yourself kind of every day you're pushing what you can do. Every day you're skiing out here in the mountains, you're progressing your skill and it’s awesome.” 

Miguel is the older brother of Nico, who won bronze at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games. He says their close relationship has been a huge motivator.  

“Getting to ski with Nico's is awesome, there’s always a little bit of rivalry between us, we’re always trying to one up each other and it makes us better skiiers. We're always having fun out there and it's great to be out there pushing each other.” 

Miguel heads to Europe shortly where he’ll be hitting the competition circuit as he works towards qualification and selection for Beijing. 

“The Beijing Olympics are massive goal for me. They’re what I've had my sights on for the last few years and I’ve been training to peak at the Games so I can’t wait.” 

“The Beijing Olympics are massive goal for me. They’re what I've had my sights on for the last few years and I’ve been training to peak at the Games so I can’t wait.”


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