Freeskier Miguel Porteous is hoping he's done enough to prove to Kiwi selectors he's good enough to once again compete on the world's biggest stage.
In 2018, a teenaged Miguel left Pyeongchang feeling like he had more to give.
Four years on, he's reset, recharged, and refocused.
“I guess what I learned from Pyeongchang is that at the end of the day it is another sporting event. We go round the world to World Champs and X Games and Dew Tours and big events,” he said.
“The Olympics is big with a lot of eyes on it but at the end of the day you're doing the same thing you do at all these things, so you know how to do it, you've just got to do it when it counts.”
That's exactly what the 22-year-old's been doing, regularly banking finals spots and pushing for podium contention.
“My thing is back to back switch double 9's [skiing backwards and performing a double flip while rotating 900 degrees in the air]. I’m currently the only one in the field who can do both of them,” he said.
“I drop in switch we call it, which is backwards into one wall, two flips sideways, frontway, best way to describe it, backwards to the other wall and do the same thing and spin the other way.”
Miguel is now hoping to showcase his trademark trick in Beijing.
He's one of around half a dozen Kiwi athletes who have met the Olympic qualification criteria but are yet to be officially selected onto the New Zealand team.
It's also a chance to go head-to-head with his younger brother Nico.
“In card games we play after skiing for sure and in the kitchen who's cooking the best dinners,” a laughing Miguel said.
“On the hill we're so supportive of each other and want to see each other ski and do the best we can.”
He's likely to find out next week, if they can do that in China in 22 days.
SHARE ME