Olympic snowboarder Zoe Gillings-Brier will be the guest of honour this month’s Isle of Man Sport Awards.
Gillings-Brier is the first and only British snowboarder to compete at four Winter Games, with her best result seeing her reach the final of the boarder-cross event in 2010 in Vancouver.
She retired from competition soon after fighting back from serious injury to compete at the PyeongChang Games in 2018, and now runs a training academy for aspiring skiers and snowboarders in Austria.
The Manx snowboarder, who also won numerous World Cup medals in her discipline, said:
‘I’m extremely honoured. I’ve attended the awards many times as an athlete and have never failed to be astounded by the achievements. I’m really looking forward to celebrating with everyone this year.’
Gillings-Brier started snowboarding on a family holiday aged 10, before entering and winning gold in the British Championships a few months later.
Julie Edge MHK, Minister for Education, Sport, said:
‘I am delighted that Zoe has accepted our invitation and I am sure everyone who attends will learn from her remarkable sporting journey, and take inspiration from it.’
The annual ceremony will celebrate the achievements of the Island’s top athletes, teams and coaches in front of hundreds of sports fans, at the Villa Marina on 28 February. The shortlist was unveiled last month.
