Kevin Rolland leaves the Olympic scene with the gold medal of resilience. Less than three years after his skiing accident which almost cost him his life, the 32-year-old Plagnard finished sixth, this Saturday, of the halfpipe final at the Beijing Olympics. With 79.25 points, Kevin Rolland finished far from New Zealand Olympic champion Nico Porteous (93 points).
A message of hope
“I would have been told that three years ago on my hospital bed, I would have more than signed”, said the freestyler, all smiles in the finish area of the Zhangjiakou snowpark. In these Olympics, Kevin Rolland took pleasure: “I’m proud of myself, happy to have landed three runs on my feet and to arrive in good health. I didn’t want to ruin the party with a big fall.” This year it was for him too difficult to win a medallike the bronze of eight years ago in Sochi, although he was secretly thinking about it. “I started dreaming this morning telling myself that I had little joker tricks that could have put me on the podium. I’ve been dreaming for three years, so why not dream today.”
Through these last Olympic Games, Kevin Rolland wanted to send a message: “I want to tell all the people who have accidents in life that it’s not an end in itself, by working you can always get out of trouble.” Return to La Plagne on Wednesday February 23 to present his film “Resilience”.