Greeted by more than 40 people at the Kelowna International Airport, Olympian Tess Critchlow arrived home after finishing sixth in the women’s snowboard cross at the 2022 games.
The two-time Olympian was shocked at the crowd as she stepped off the plane from Beijing.
“This is amazing, I am so thankful to Big White for helping me with my journey,” she said, standing beside the Loose Moose.
Critchlow said mentally she was a lot more prepared for these Olympic Games than PyeongChang in 2018.
“It was super fun, I remember being at the gate and looking over at the other riders and knowing I had an opportunity to make moves if I had to and it did come down to that. It was the second last burn and it was my last shot, so I knew I had to do something,” she said, about her finish at the games.
As far as attending the Olympics during a global pandemic, Critchlow said the games had a much different tone than that of 2018.
“It was kind of funny because of the COVID restrictions, it was a bit dimmed down without the fans or my family there. It wasn’t as impressive, it didn’t have the same feel,” she explained.
However, the restrictions provided an opportunity to bring the women’s snowboard team together and Critchlow felt she connected more with other riders.
As far as what’s next for Critchlow she says she is letting the excitement of the 2022 Olympic Games sit in for a minute and then she will finish out the rest of her season, which includes heading back to Big White after being away from the Okanagan since November.
She will head back to train in Austria on March 4.
Big White’s Tess Critchlow arrives at the Kelowna International Airport back from the #OlympicGames @BlackPressMedia @KelownaCapNews @TeamCanada #Kelowna #BigWhite pic.twitter.com/uBV8fuoSSi
— Jordy Cunningham (@CunninghamJordy) February 15, 2022
READ MORE: Big White’s Tess Critchlow finished sixth, Prince George’s O’Dine wins bronze at Winter Olympics
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