Torah Bright: I don't let results define me

It’s just under three years until the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, but Aussie snowboarding champion Torah Bright admits the Games are at the forefront of her mind.

In the midst of her self-proclaimed ‘stoke’ year – the year after a Winter Olympics that she uses to get stoked about snowboarding again – Bright says she is currently getting her passion for the sport back after a grueling 12 months in 2014.

After picking up a silver medal in her pet event at Sochi – the halfpipe – the 28-year-old was back competing at the Winter X Games in January in Aspen, where she was beaten by 14-year-old American Chloe Kim.

But the surprise defeat didn’t faze her one bit, in fact, it did exactly the opposite.

“I wasn’t prepared at all,” she says.

“I had only ridden for one week [prior to X Games] so I was just happy to be there and to put on a good show.”

And it’s this attitude that has Bright looking lethal for 2018.

“I’m definitely focusing on South Korea already and I’m going to go out there and compete,” she says.

But don’t expect the 2010 gold medalist to be focused solely on another gold.

After backing up her 2010 gold with silver in 2014, one could excuse her for making winning back her gold medal the sole focus.

But for Bright, the end result isn’t important.

“I’m a competitor, but I’m not uber competitive to the point where I only think about winning medals.

“I just love being out there and doing my best.

“I’m not defined by competition results and I definitely don’t let results define my career or me as a person.”

In Bright’s eyes, her main goal is to show snowboarding off to the world and get more kids participating in snow sports.

So when she was beaten by a 14-year-old at X Games, a part of her was happy to see a youngster taking the sport by storm.

“It’s so great to see young kids coming through and competing at the top level,” she says.

“My hope is that the younger generation don’t lose the art-form of snowboarding.

“There’s an element of soul and self-expression that sometimes gets lost.

“It’s not always all about winning medals.”

And Bright is hoping to convey this message in her role as Winter Ambassador for Thredbo, where she hopes to encourage more kids to try snowboarding.

“[Thredbo] is where I learnt how to ski and I have so many good memories there.

“I really want to be able to share snowboarding with the younger generation and show it off to the world.”

She is encouraging kids to get to Thredbo this winter for ‘Torah Bright’s Mini Shred’, where herself and a host of other snow sports professionals will give tips, prizes and have fun with the kids in a relaxed and friendly environment.

Full details here.