Hannah

By NAT HAWK

How many bones have you broken?

How many concussions have you had? How many ACLs have you blown? And how many surgeries have you had to have?

Imagine dealing with nine broken bones, six surgeries, four serious concussions and two blown ACLs.

That’s the injury track record of Hannah Trigger, a 27-year-old professional Australian snowboarder. She’s been on a snowboard since the age of six, and in that time, she’s had to deal with all of the above.

After that many injuries, most people would give up snowboarding and try something safer. Like lawn bowls. Or mini golf. Or pretty much anything that doesn’t involve launching yourself down a half-pipe that’s carved into the side of a mountain.

But giving up isn’t a phrase that exists in Hannah’s vocabulary. And she wasn’t going to stop until she got to the Olympics.

Happily, Hannah competed as part of the Australian team during the Sochi 2014 Winter Games. And that’s not the end of the snowboarding road for her – she has continued training throughout this year in order to dominate in as many competitions as possible.

In Australia, Hannah spends her time at Mount Hotham in Victoria; off-season, she heads to Breckenridge in Colorado.

Her average day looks a little like this: wake up, head up the mountain, and then spend the day hiking up the half-pipe to ride back down and practice her tricks.

I had a chat to Hannah to find out more about her life and about how she’s persisted through all those injuries to continue her snowboarding career. Here’s what she told me:

I also asked Hannah for her tips to those who are still finding time to head down to the Aussie or Kiwi snow in August and September…

What to wear: “Burton for clothes, Oakley for goggles. They make the best gear. Make sure you dress warm!”

What to ride: “I’ve been riding the Burton Feelgood for nearly 8 years now. It’s suitable for all types of riding, it’s lightweight, holds a great edge and is quick and responsive under your feet.”

Stay safe: “Everyone should also get a helmet – everyone used to think they’re uncool but all the best riders wear them. Even if it’s not you that falls over, someone else can take you out. I tell all my friends to wear a helmet.”

Hannah is also an ambassador and coach for Chicks with Stix, an awesome program which aims to get more girls involved in skiing and snowboarding. If you’re female and keen on a (free!!!) day skiing and boarding with some of the best athletes Australia has to offer, you can sign up for one of their 2014 freeride sessions here . You can also read more about Chicks with Stix here . 

And in other sports news from the week…

– Unfortunately our Aussie women’s rugby team was eliminated from the Women’s Rugby World Cup this week. They lost 17-3 to France which meant that they were unable to progress to the semi-finals. Now all eyes have moved to England and Canada, who will play each other in the final.

– A new study done by independent auditor Street Ryan Cricket has shown that out of the 1.106 million Aussies that played cricket last summer, 22% were women. This is a serious increase in the amount of women we have out there on the cricket pitch compared to previous years. Hopefully that number is set to increase even more in future years with the incredible international performances of our Aussie women’s cricket team.

Have you seen anything in the sporting world that you’d like to talk about?