Aussie snowboarder praised for incredible act of courage
Cam Bolton may not have won a medal in PyeongChang, but his gutsy display while injured won over fans.
The Aussie hurt his wrist after crashing in the semi-finals of the snowboard cross on Thursday, but still managed to get back up and finish fourth, securing a place in the small final.
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Bolton looked to be in considerable pain as he received a makeshift splint and some strapping to his left wrist, just moments before racing for seventh place.
However the 27-year-old sucked up the pain and took his place on the starting line, finishing in 10th place overall.
He reportedly suffered severe tendon damage in his wrist, leaving fans in awe of his courageous effort.
Bravo, Cam Bolton. That's courage. Looks physically ill as his wrist is splinted head of the SBX small final. pic.twitter.com/bL1Ud1rHaq
— Tony Harper (@toneharper) February 15, 2018
Cam Bolton getting his badly broken wrist strapped up to compete for a place. Bloody Aussie spirit, I’m tearing up. Bring it home son. #PyongChang2018 #WinterOlympic
— Ryan Fitzgerald (@FitzySA) February 15, 2018
4th for @cameron_bolton in the small final - a 10th place finish! Awesome stuff Cam #Top10 #GoAUS 🙌🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/MdNrSpHVhf
— AUS Olympic Team (@AUSOlympicTeam) February 15, 2018
Cam Bolton, massive injury to his wrist, wincing in pain, yet he's getting strapped up so he can race in the small final. Unreal https://t.co/rgR0bleSfk pic.twitter.com/SGnLgqdKQC
— Emily Benammar (@EmilyBenammar) February 15, 2018
Cam bolton getting strapped up.... what a machine
— Woodsy (@beergutpunter) February 15, 2018
The embodiment of Aussie spirit.
With one arm, @Cameron_Bolton crosses the finish line in the snowboarding cross small final. #Olympics pic.twitter.com/6vfWYwINDb— 7Olympics (@7olympics) February 15, 2018
Bloody brave @cameron_bolton getting back up there. @AUSOlympicTeam pic.twitter.com/b6UkU9aW8u
— Matt Shirvington (@mattshirvington) February 15, 2018
Five knee surgeries, team tensions and a shocking qualifying run weren't enough to scupper Jarryd Hughes, who claimed silver for Australia.
French world No.1 Pierre Vaultier snared gold and Spaniard Regino Hernandez bronze on Thursday as fellow Australian Alex Pullin crashed out in the decider to be sixth.
Hughes had won just two World Cup events in an injury-riddled career and was thought to be less of a medal threat than Pullin, a two-time world champion in the sport.
But the 22-year-old negotiated the course superbly, as other competitors crashed in the six-man decider to be in a late three-way race for gold.
He made up ground on a runaway Vaultier in the dying stages as he narrowly held off Hernandez.
"The last five years, I haven't really been able to do a lot of on-snow training," he said.
"It was rough. It has been a long process and a lot of money.
"But I'm just so happy to be here and walk away with that result."
with AAP
