James Machon (born 23 November 1990) is a

freestyle skier Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, moguls, cross, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Winter Olympics. It can consist of a skier performing aerial flips and spins and can include skiers sliding rails and ...

who competes in the

halfpipe A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding. Overview The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ra ...

, his first Olympics was the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

Biography

Machon was born on 23 November 1990, in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, England. He was schooled at Bamford Primary School, and went to

Leeds Metropolitan University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univ ...

. He started skiing at the age of 6. Between the age of 6 and until he was 14, went on annual ski holidays with his family. He began practising freestyle skiing in the Sheffield freestyle skiing park when he was 15 years old. Half-pipe

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

is snow

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...

on a

half-pipe A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding. Overview The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ramp ...

. The sport is considered to be dangerous compared to other sports, and helmets are required to be worn during competitions. Half-pipe skiing has been part of the

Winter X Games Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures d ...

since 2002, and has been approved to be an official sport at the

, Russia. In 2006 Machon entered his first British Championships, and in the period from 2009 to 2013 (inclusive), Machon won four consecutive British Halfpipe Championships. At the start of the Olympic qualifying season, Machon was ranked in the top 15 by the Association of Freeskiing Professionals, a position he feels is his "greatest sporting achievement so far". Shortly before the selection for the 2014 Winter Olympics, Machon was recovering from a severe knee injury, he had a tear in his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

, which kept him from competing for eight months; it was torn in training in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. Machon said that his competing after he tore his ligament was "looking virtually impossible", but he was happy he overcame the injury.

Olympics

Machon's Olympic debut was at the

, which was also the first time skiing halfpipe had been at an Olympics. He competed on 18 February 2014 in the halfpipe, an event in

freestyle skiing Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, Mogul Skiing, moguls, Ski Cross, cross, Half-pipe skiing, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Freestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics. It can consist of a ...

. He finished 23rd.

Family

Machon's brother, Robert, also skis competitively, and is a member of the England Team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Machon, James Living people 1990 births Sportspeople from Sheffield English male freestyle skiers Olympic freestyle skiers for Great Britain Freestyle skiers at the 2014 Winter Olympics