Jones takes bronze in the slopestyle to give Britain their first EVER medal on snow
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Jenny Jones made history in the newest of Olympic sports by claiming the snowboard slopestyle bronze medal on Sunday.
The 33-year-old from Bristol managed what no Britain had achieved in 90 years of Winter Olympics going back to the Chamonix Games of 1924 – winning a medal on snow.
She had to endure an agonising 20-minute wait after finishing her second and final run while 10 of her rivals took to the slopes in their attempts to beat her score.
That's the one: Jenny Jones celebrates after her second run in the women's slopestyle in Sochi
Rad: Jones performs a stylish jump during her successful run
At last: Jones poses with her bronze medal
She was toppled off gold-medal spot by Ennu Rukajarvi, who finished with silver, and the gold medal winner, America’s Jamie Anderson.
For Bristol-born Jones, the victory finally arrived after a decade in this sport of high drama and danger. She even came back to competition after suffering a massive bang on the head just three months ago.
It was a captivating sight for those up the mountain in Sochi, and the British flags were waved by the small knot of her fans watching at the bottom of the vertiginous run.
Delight: Jones (right) celebrates with fellow medalists Enni Rukajarvi (left) and Jamie Anderson (centre)
High flying: It was Britain's first ever medal on snow
Apres-ski? British snowboarder Jenny Jones tweeted this, suggesting she might be out celebrating tonight
Just beginning: Jenny Jones pictured aged 18 when the sportswoman had just started her first full season
Ouch: She is pictured with a black eye (left) and cuts to her face (right) sustained through her sport
Star in the making: Jones in 2002, a few years after winning her first of five British Snowboard Championships
‘I did the best run I could have done,’ Jones told the BBC.
'I am pumped, I'm just so pumped. I'm so chuffed. I'm so proud. I just wanted to make it look nice,' Jones could barely comprehend her success.
'It feels amazing. I cannot believe it, I just can't believe it. I knew I was going to drop [down the leaderboard] but I didn't know how far. I am just so happy. It was so difficult waiting. I thought I did my best run and landed it as best as I could.'
‘This is amazing, I'm shaking,’ said Great Britain team-mate Jamie Nicholls, who was sixth in Saturday's men's final.
‘Jenny's been though a lot, she was at the top four years ago and for her to come here and put it down and get a bronze medal is pretty crazy!
‘We don't even have mountains in our country but this shows anyone can make it happen.’
Pumped: Jones poses with her parents below
JENNY JONES FACTFILE
1980: Born July 3 in Bristol.
1999: Explodes onto the scene by winning the first of five British Snowboard Championships.
2006: Finishes the year second in the World Snowboard Tour Rankings.
2009: January - Cements her position as one of the world's leading snowboarders by winning a slopestyle gold medal at the prestigious Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado.
February - Earns silver in the slopestyle at the inaugural Winter Dew Tour after second-place finishes in the meetings at Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado and Mount Snow Resort in West Dover, Vermont.
2010: January - Wins her second slopestyle gold medal in a row at the Winter X Games 14 in Aspen.
February - Runner-up once again in the Winter Dew Tour standings after a third-place finish at Breckenridge was followed up by coming second at Snowbasin Resort in Huntsville, Utah and Mount Snow Resort.
March - Follows up her success in the X Games with yet another gold medal at the Winter X Games Europe in Tignes, France.
2011: Fails to claim a hat-trick of Winter X Games gold medals, settling for silver after being pipped by Finland's Enni Rukajarvi.
2013: August - Secures her first World Cup podium with a silver medal in a meeting in New Zealand.
December - Suffers a concussion in a training crash in Austria.
2014: January - Named in Team GB's squad for the Winter Olympics in Sochi to compete in the Games' first ever slopestyle event.
Sunday, February 9 - marks her Olympic debut at the age of 33 by winning bronze medal for Great Britain in snowboard slopestyle at Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. Becomes Britain's first medal winner on snow.
Liz Nicholl, UK Sport Chief Executive, said: 'UK Sport is hugely proud to have supported Jenny Jones as a member of our National Lottery funded World Class Performance Programme. It’s wonderful to see all the hard work and dedication of Jenny, her coaches and support staff, realised when it mattered the most.
'Jenny winning a historic first British Olympic medal on snow, in the new slopestyle snowboarding discipline, will create a huge sense of excitement and momentum within the team.
'UK Sport has invested over £14 million of National Lottery and Government funding into athletes representing Great Britain at the Sochi Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and set a target of winning at least three Olympic medals, so Jenny has got the team off to a sensational start.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/winterolympics/article-2555064/Winter-Olympics-2014-Jenny-Jones-wins-womens-slopestyle-bronze-medal.html#ixzz2sr0t7Hct
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