Tiarn Collins (born 9 November 1999) is a New Zealand snowboarder, specialising in slopestyle and big air competitions.[1] He is representing New Zealand in the slopestyle and big air events at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.[2]

Tiarn Collins
Personal information
Born (1999-11-09) 9 November 1999 (age 25)
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Sport
CountryNew Zealand
SportSnowboarding
Event(s)Slopestyle
Big air
Coached bySean Thompson
Mitch Brown
Medal record
Representing  New Zealand
Men's snowboarding
Junior World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Špindlerův Mlýn Slopestyle

Biography

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Born in Brisbane, Australia, Collins moved to New Zealand with his family when he was eight years old, settling in Queenstown.[1] He is of Māori descent, affiliating to Ngāi Tahu.[3] Collins was home schooled after attending Wakatipu High School up to the end of year 10.[4][5]

Collins competed in the 2016 Youth Olympic Games, where he finished fourth in slopestyle and fifth in the halfpipe. The following year, at the Junior World Championships, he won bronze in slopestyle.[6] He was selected in the New Zealand team for the 2018 Winter Olympics, but dislocated his shoulder in the lead-up to competition and was unable to compete.[7]

In the 2019–2020 season, Collins had his first World Cup slopestyle victory, winning at Calgary on 16 February 2020. He best result in the 2020-2021 World Cup was 15th in slopestyle.[1] The following season, in the lead-up to the 2022 Winter Olympics, he finished third in slopestyle at the World Cup event at Mammoth Mountain and gained selection for the 2022 Winter Olympics.[7]

At the 2022 Winter Olympics, Collins finished 18th in the men's slopestyle.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Tiarn Collins". Beijing 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  2. ^ Tiarn Collins at the New Zealand Olympic Committee
  3. ^ "Tiarn Collins". Māori Sports Awards. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Boarder closes in Olympic dream". Mountain Scene. 31 July 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Former WHS students at the Beijing Winter Olympics". WHS Newsletter. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Tiarn Collins". Snow Sports. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  7. ^ a b Ritchie, Ollie (20 January 2022). "Beijing Winter Olympics: Kiwi snowboarder Tiarn Collins' long road back from devastating shoulder injury". Newshub. Retrieved 7 February 2022.