Snowboard cross star Charlotte Bankes (pictured left) has won the silver medal at the 2019 Freestyle World Championships in Solitude, Utah.
After switching countries from France in November, Bankes has won three Europa Cups, stood on the World Cup podium and has now won Great Britain’s first-ever snowboard cross medal at a major championship, and first snowboarding silver at a World Championships.
The 23-year-old was clinical in qualifying on Thursday, setting the third-fastest time to comfortably win through to the quarter-finals, then finished second in Friday’s quarter-final and winning in her semi-final to earn her place in the final four.
Speaking after the medal ceremony, Bankes was excited to have stepped on the World Championships podium for the first time, marking her first major championships medal.
Already a three-time World Cup winner and two-time Olympian, Bankes described today’s performance as the best of her career.
“This one is above them all. I’ve always struggled in the one-day events, I’ve never ridden that well but today was fun, everything seemed to go to plan. It’s nice after all the hard work which everyone has put in.”