Party on, Billy!
Joy for the oldest swinger in town
There is a wonderful irony in the fact that the man who ensured Team GB hit their medal target at these Games could not possibly be a greater antidote to the tedium of funding figures and statistics.
Billy Morgan freely admits that he comes from “the last generation of snowboarders who could get away with it” – and, by “it”, he means partying hard. Four years ago, Morgan found himself on a dance floor with a toilet seat around his neck at the end of the Sochi Olympics. He will doubtless find another dance floor to celebrate on this weekend, but this time he will be sporting a bronze medal instead.
Considered a huge outsider to challenge the big air podium yesterday, Morgan recovered from a first run wipeout to upset the odds and win Britain’s fifth medal of the Games – their best haul in Winter Olympics history.
In fact, Morgan’s bronze could so easily have been silver, with his combined score of 168 from his best two runs putting him just 0.75 points behind American Kyle Mack, as Sebastien Toutant of Canada claimed gold.
In characteristic fashion, Morgan celebrated by cracking open an imaginary beer – a “frosto” as he called it – and prepared to hit the town. Morgan dances to a refreshingly different tune to that of most elite athletes. Just two days ago he filmed a video performing stunts on a manual scooter around the Olympic Village. On the eve of his big air final, he upgraded to an electric scooter and went “blazing through the forests”.
It is difficult to imagine Lizzy Yarnold, Elise Christie or, indeed, any other elite sportsperson preparing for the biggest competition of their life in such a manner. “If I just sit in my room I go crazy,” he explained. “So I get out, do some stuff and distract myself. That’s what makes a big difference when I’m riding the contests. I use partying as a distraction. I get scared a lot and I worry about it so it does help to have a couple of drinks, relax and not think about the scary s--- I have to do.”
Morgan, 28, has good reason to feel
afraid every now and again. Few events at an Olympics renowned for their fear factor ask athletes to perform such daring feats as the big air snowboarders, who must attempt as many flips and twists as possible over one massive ramp. It is no surprise that Morgan’s injury list is so extensive, with multiple broken bones and significant injuries to his knees.
He only managed to compete at Sochi 2014 when he delayed an operation to repair a torn anterior cruciate knee ligament and opted to wear a knee brace instead. His build up to this success in South Korea was also hampered by another knee injury – this time to his other leg – before Christmas, which meant he was unable to train for almost two months. But Morgan is not one of life’s great worriers. Intent on being “as genuine as possible” in everything he does, his background as a roofer on building sites is a far cry from the privilege afforded to some of his British team-mates.
Indeed, he only took up snowboarding on a dry slope in Southampton aged 14 and did not ride on snow for a further four years. Perhaps it is that – and the influence of his father who is nicknamed “Mad Eddie” – which has shaped his carefree personality.
Unconcerned by his inability to land his “frontside 1440 triple with mute and tail grab” even once in practice on Saturday morning, he stuck with it for the final run and is now an Olympic bronze medallist. Even then, his modesty meant he put his success down to “luck” that others crashed out. “He shows you don’t have to be a coldhearted machine to be an Olympic medallist,” said Hamish McKnight, British snowboard head coach, who admitted he could not relay most stories involving Morgan.
“Billy can represent free sports as free sports are supposed to be. He parties at the right times, and the wrong times. In all honesty, Billy is getting a bit more sensible with the way he approaches his off-time. The problem really is that his definition of ‘party’ is a bit further than anyone else’s.”
As for that toilet seat incident of four years ago, Morgan has a simple explanation: “If there’s a bunch of Brits in a room with bottles of vodka on tables, it’s going to end in tears – and it did.”
Something suggests his bronze medal celebrations will be a sight to behold.