CH Freienbach - Iouri Podladtchikov -is how a future Olympic champion trains

Iouri Podladtchikov and Swiss Snowboard invited the press and interested parties to Freienbach. The 500 m2 hall there has it all - a King Size Halfpipe II by Vertical:

Kingsize Halfpipe II:
The only vertramp of Switzerland is able to impress with it's measurements: Fourteen meters long, twelve meters wide and 3.8 meters tall! And why does Iouri, the poster child of the Swiss snowboard scene, need a vert ramp? This is how he put it: "So I can feel the vertical sensation on the board, and fine-tune my perception".

Weight room:
An improvised weight room was also arranged. It's where the athletes condition the important muscle groups for the sport. It's where the right mix of muscle strength and mobility really matters. Trampoline and Airtracks: bagjump.com A trampoline of huge dimensions, 5 x 3 meters in size, one of the only ten available worldwide, and the very first one in Europe. Here you can practice flips, corks and different combinations.

Triple Ninja:
With the Bagjump you can practice the rotations and flips that were learned on the trampoline. Marco Bruni, Iouris coach, explains: "This is precisely the base to train the triple cork and the triple cork could be the golden trick in Sochi. The best snowboarders are fiddling with it. Shaun White is practicing; Iouri has already made it on the bag". The confidence and safety for such a difficult trick can actually only be acquired on a trampoline" says Bruni.

Iouri acquired these great training opportunities by using his own funds, for the most part. As it says in an issue of "Swiss Snowboard - Off Snow", it is important to improve your training even when there's no snow available.

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Triple Ninja
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