Ståle Sandbech (born 3 June 1993) is a Norwegian snowboarder, who specialises in Big Air, and Slopestyle. He has participated at the 2010,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

, and 2022 Winter Olympics and won a silver medal in the Men's slopestyle in 2014. Sandbech has also competed at several

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 cultur ...

winning 2 Silver medals in 2015, and 2017 and 3 bronze medals in 2013, and 2014, and a Gold medal at the 2017 World Championships.

Career

Sandbech comes from Rykkinn in Bærum and competes for the club BSK Snowboard. He started snowboarding at the age of eight and, in 2007, was invited to the rookie-competition of The Arctic Challenge. The organizer of TAC

Terje Håkonsen Terje Håkonsen (born 11 October 1974 in Vinje, Norway) is a Norwegian professional snowboarder. He is considered one of the most influential snowboarders in the history of the sport. In the book ''The way of the snowboarder'', Rob Reed wrote that ...

said Sandbech was the best 13-year-old snowboarder in Norway at the time. Sandbech represented Norway at the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gret ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, becoming the youngest Norwegian to go to the Olympics since

Sonja Henie Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic champion ( 1928, 1932, 1936) in women's singles, a ten-time World champion (1927–1936) and a six-time European champi ...

represented Norway at the

1928 Winter Olympics The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games (french: IIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; german: II. Olympische Winterspiele; it, II Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, II Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. M ...

82 years earlier. Sandbech won the World Snowboarding Tour in freestyle in 2011–12. Sandbech won a bronze medal in Big Air at the

2013 Winter X Games Winter X Games XVII (re-titled Winter X Games Aspen '13; styled as Winter X Games Seventeen in the official logo) were held from January 24 to January 27, 2013, in Aspen, Colorado. They were the 12th consecutive Winter X Games to be held in Aspen. ...

, where his countryman

Torstein Horgmo Torstein Horgmo (born 18 February 1987) is a Norwegian professional snowboarder. Horgmo has competed, and medalled in, a variety of slopestyle and big air snowboarding competitions. He rides regular stance. Personal Horgmo grew up in Trondheim ...

won gold. Four Norwegians qualified for the Big Air final in the 2014 games, with Sandbech placing the highest and winning the bronze medal. The next day, he won another bronze medal in slopestyle. At the 2014 Winter Olympics, Sandbech participated in

slopestyle Slopestyle is a winter sport in which athletes ski or snowboard down a course including a variety of obstacles including rails, jumps and other terrain park features. Points are scored for amplitude, originality and quality of tricks. The disc ...

, the first time it was included in an Olympic program. In his first run he tried a triple cork, but failed to land it. He had a successful second run, and with 91.75 points he placed second behind

Sage Kotsenburg Sage Kotsenburg (born July 27, 1993) is an American snowboarder. He won the first-ever Olympic gold medal in men's snowboard slopestyle at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, and became the first gold medalist at these Olympics. Kot ...

. It was Norway's first medal in the 2014 Olympics. Former snowboarder and Norwegian TV 2 commentator, Andreas Wiig, and the Swedish slopestyle competitor, Sven Thorgren, both stated that Sandbech should have won the gold as he performed better than Kotsenburg in their opinions. Sandbech competed in the 2015 Winter X-Games in

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Moun ...

where he placed 5th in Men's BigAir and earned a Silver Medal in

Slopestyle Slopestyle is a winter sport in which athletes ski or snowboard down a course including a variety of obstacles including rails, jumps and other terrain park features. Points are scored for amplitude, originality and quality of tricks. The disc ...

. The following year during the 2016 Winter X-Games, Sandbech placed 5th in BigAir once again and 7th in Slopestyle. During the 2017 Winter X-Games, he placed 5th in BigAir and just off the podium of Slopestyle in only 4th place with a score of 85.66. While Sandbech did compete during the 2019 Winter X-Games, he did not make it into any finals. During the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics ( ko, 2018년 동계 올림픽, Icheon sip-pal nyeon Donggye Ollimpik), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (french: Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; ko, 제23회 동계 올림픽, Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpi ...

, Sandbech competed in BigAir and slopestyle where he finished just outside the podium i
4th
Sandbech placed 2nd with a score of 80.43 at the 202
LAAX Open
earning himself a silver medal.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandbech, Staale 1993 births Living people Sportspeople from Bærum Norwegian male snowboarders Olympic snowboarders of Norway Snowboarders at the 2010 Winter Olympics Snowboarders at the 2014 Winter Olympics Snowboarders at the 2018 Winter Olympics Snowboarders at the 2022 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Norway Olympic medalists in snowboarding X Games athletes 21st-century Norwegian people