Belle Brockhoff Interview

Today we switch focus to snowboard cross as we speak to Australian Olympian Belle Brockhoff. Belle talks about the success of the most recent World Cup season as well as her serious injury she suffered and why it was the 'best time' to get such an injury. She also discusses what her goals are ahead of the 2018 Olympics and just why she now has some potential ammo to use against her Canadian rivals heading into the games next year.

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Please note this is an automated transcript that may contain errors.

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BEN WATERWORTH: Welcome once again to Off The Podium, An Olympics Podcast as we bring you a continued look at the lead up to the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics. Sort of a preview series that we are doing in regards to a variety of different athletes leading up into next year's Winter Games. And you've already heard from a variety of winter athletes. Colin has been bringing some Canadian athletes to the table and some Australian athletes too. It seems to happen. And I'm glad that Colin's managing to use that winter angle, I feel, that Canada can produce in terms of getting these athletes on the show. I feel we need to surprise him by perhaps getting a couple of Canadian athletes on the show from the summer side of things. Maybe we'll work that out. But today we are bringing you an interview with an Australian athlete, an Australian speaking to an Australian, from the sport of snowboard cross. This is Belle Brockhoff. Now Belle, very well known in this country in the Sochi Olympics. She had a lot of media attention around her leading into those games and strong performances from her in those and sort of outside the Olympics as well. And one of our very well known athletes, I feel, in the winter sports circle and had a fantastic season just recently coming close to the Olympic Games next year. And as you'll hear her discuss in this interview, she'll say a little bit about how well she actually did during the season and of course, sadly had an injury towards the end. But as she discusses, probably the best time to get an injury if that is such a thing. And she'll explain why in regards to this. And of course, you've heard Colin bring the I am Canadian questions. To all the athletes that he's interviewed, something that I tended to avoid when it came to a few of the athletes that we've had on the show from my angle. So for the very first time, I managed to pull out the I am Canadian questions and turn them into I am Australian questions, I guess, and put them towards Belle. So let's shut me up and let's hear our chat right now with Australian snowboard cross athlete Belle Brockhoff. Continuing on, speaking to several Olympians in the lead-up to Pyeongchang in 2018, and it's a pleasure to be able to speak to our next guest here on Off The Podium today. She competed in the 2014 Sochi Olympics in the sport of snowboard cross, and is well on her way to competing for Australia once again next year at the Games. Please welcome to the show Belle Brockhoff. Belle, thank you for your time here today.

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Thank you for having me.

BEN WATERWORTH: It's a pleasure, and I'm intrigued about the world of snowboard cross, because as somebody who is a fan of the Olympics, I love the Winter Olympics more than the Summer Games, and I personally love watching snowboard cross. But for many Australians, Belle, this is a sport which I'm sure that a lot of people have to ask you commonly, what on earth is snowboard cross? Have you gotten used to sort of explaining it, I guess, in an easier way to some people who are a bit misunderstanding on what the sport is?

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Yeah, look, I can't figure out a simple way to explain it. I mean, most people know what BMX racing is. So I just say basically that, on a snowboard, on snow, and then on a mountain. And you've got all these obstacles and jumps and rolls that you have to go through. And you have six people that you're racing against and top three who cross the finish line first go to the next round.

BEN WATERWORTH: It sounds so simple, doesn't it? I mean, it's kind of it's one of those things that you explain. And then but when you watch it, though, it really is such a it's such a unique sport to watch. And I kind of find it's it's sad that we only really in Australia get to see it every four years for the Olympics. Is this something that you feel that Australians really need to be paying more attention to? Because this is a fun sport to watch.

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Yeah, definitely. And we're a small group of winter athletes and we're growing and growing. And we've had an amazing season this year. I don't know if many people know about it, but we've racked up quite a few medals in a very long time. And board cross, last year, or last month's games was really exciting for us because we had a really good ratings on our sport. And this year coming to games, it's going to be even more exciting because it's just a spectacular sport. You know, you have crashes, you have knockouts, you have all these kinds of things that keep you on the edge of your seat.

BEN WATERWORTH: Now, you're mentioning, of course, with the fantastic season you guys have had sort of just gone and obviously leading into the games next year. I mean, tell our listeners, just update us, I guess, a little bit on just how well you went, particularly yourself, Belle. I'm sure everybody's very intrigued to find out just how well you are going leading into the Olympics next year.

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Yeah, well, I have my best season yet, which was a bit of a twist on the end of it because I blew my ACL out towards the end of the season, which was a bit of a bummer. But at the same time, it was a good time to do it because I was 11 months out. But I racked up a few podiums and two golds as well. So I was really happy about that. And throughout the whole season, I was the tour leader, which was really exciting for me. It punched off a lot of gold in mine. And yeah, now I'm on the mend.

BEN WATERWORTH: Fantastic. So I mean, obviously not fantastic about the injury though, Belle, but as you kind of said, if you're going to get injured, I guess you kind of take it, as you said, 11 months out. So that recovery at the moment is still ongoing, and it's something that will be healed in time for the games next year.

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Yeah, exactly. Like I have a really good team, strong support team around me, making sure I'm ticking off boxes, and I'm already walking around five weeks out and doing all these weight training as well. So it's pretty good. I'm quite happy.

BEN WATERWORTH: And sort of with that training then kind of leading into the games next year, I mean, when does the next season get underway? Do you have sort of a period here in Australia where you've got to keep training, or is it still a case of you've got to keep following that snow, and as soon as you're ready to get back on that board, you're able to just keep on pushing towards the games?

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Yeah, so like, it's a bit different for the others right now, but for me, because of the injury, I have a set plan on, okay, end of August, I'll do a few physical tests and see if I can get back on snow. If so, I'll jump on a snowboard and just do some really cruisy stuff, and that'll be around the start of September. The guys will probably go to the World Cup in Argentina in September, and then I'll go overseas earlier in October rather than November and do my on-snow training there, because usually we do like a on-snow camp in August.

BEN WATERWORTH: Right, right. And what's the process in terms of selection for the games? Because I know sort of a lot of these sports in the lead up to next year, the selection, I believe, comes very late, sort of very close to the games. Is that similar for snowboard cross, or do you find out at a certain time?

BELLE BROCKHOFF: It's similar to snowboard cross, and I think all we do sports, and we've got World Cups leading up to the event. So a lot of teams are using that as their last minute for those who haven't qualified, or who have qualified, who want to use that as training before the games, and that's what we do. So yeah, I mean, right now, I'll probably miss most of it before the games, but hopefully I can return to it before the games, rather than having the Olympics as my first event.

BEN WATERWORTH: And I mean, of course, that's obviously not ideal preparation, but I guess in terms of sort of pushing towards it, I mean, the ultimate goal, no doubt, is the Olympics. And, you know, coming off eighth in such year, I mean, do you go into next year with a designated target? Is it just bettering eighth? Are you going flat out for a medal, or are you just kind of kind of see how it goes in between now and February next year?

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Yeah, like I'll take it day by day, but at the end of the day, I always come into a comp aiming to win. I think you just got to go for gold. Each time you come into a competition, you shouldn't like set anything lower than that. Even if you know you're not quite there yet, I think aiming the highest you can possibly go will help you throughout the whole comp.

BEN WATERWORTH: And have you had much of an opportunity to check out the facilities there in Korea? Is that kind of one of the venues you've had the opportunity to ski at? Sorry, to snowboard at, I guess, in the last couple of months?

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Yeah, so like two years ago, or two seasons ago, we went there for a test event. So that worked out really well. We had a World Cup on the actual course that we were racing on. From there, they'll say, OK, we'll add this many features, or bring it back by this many features, depending on what the athletes' feedback were. Also, we stayed in some accommodation just to get our surroundings and bearings on what it would be like at the Olympics, and then also kind of tick off what we need to be shipped over there for us, for each personal athlete. So it was really cool. And then like even last year, our coaches went over to test different waxes on the snow, because the waxes, you know, you kind of want to get that right. It's like, you know, soft and hard tyres for Formula One cars. So it's just to test that, see what the snow is like, and then keep that information for next year.

BEN WATERWORTH: And I mean, what's your impression, I guess, of those facilities when you were there? I mean, were they, you know, great facilities for you to sort of suit your style, and are you kind of expecting it to be similar or maybe even better for you next year during the games?

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Yeah, like, so like the accommodation was the standard accommodation because it was two years out, but didn't have the actual accommodation for us built yet. But last year, some of the guys went over and they said it's really good, everything's brand new, everything that we need there, and even like even the food for people's dietary needs, everything, it's easy to sort out. So, yeah, like we have stuff shipped over as well. So if we want like a guitar or a tennis table, you know, it's probably good.

BEN WATERWORTH: And is that something that you, I guess, both of them, do you need a guitar and a tennis table there for you, Belle? I mean, does that help you focus in the games, I guess?

BELLE BROCKHOFF: No, I just need my own pillow. That's the big thing, so a pillow would be right.

BEN WATERWORTH: Just keep it simple, keep it simple. I like that, I like that. Now, one thing we like to do here quickly on the show, Belle, we've sort of got this bit of a segment towards the end, which we like to ask our athletes. Now, one of our co-hosts, I'll quickly explain this, he is Canadian. So he kind of took this from the Canadian Olympic Team website from Rio last year, and they asked each of their athletes a few different questions, just kind of getting their thoughts on various things to do with the Olympics. So we're doing this in the lead up to Korea next year, just to kind of get some different thoughts of our athletes as they head into those games. And it's kind of interesting here to change these around to an Australian perspective. So it basically starts off by saying, my name is and I am Canadian. So we're going to change that to, my name is Belle Brockhoff and I'm Australian, just in case you're not secretly Canadian or anything, Belle, that I'm not discovering here or... Now, who to you is the greatest Olympian of all time?

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Oh, I reckon our own Lydia Lasala. I mean, she's going for a fifth Olympic. She's pumped out a few kids in between the games and had time off. And then the year before the game, she just qualifies and most likely gets a medal.

BEN WATERWORTH: Definitely fantastic inspiration there. One I'd agree with there. What's your first Olympics that you ever remember watching?

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Clearly, it would have been 2002, where I don't know if you remember this girl who is still one of the top riders in our sport, Lindsay Dicapelis, leading the Bordercross heat in the big final. So this was the gold medal round, and she was leading and then started to show off on the last jump, doing a grab and fell in ten seconds.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yep, I do remember that. You don't want to be doing that, I guess, next year.

BELLE BROCKHOFF: No, no, that was Bordercross lesson number one for me as a kid.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yes, that's kind of day one of Bordercross. You see that? Okay, don't do this.

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Yeah, exactly.

BEN WATERWORTH: Now, if you could be any superhero, what would you be or who would you be?

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Oh, I haven't really thought about that one. I don't know. Something to do with snow, I guess. Like, I love snow and racing and all that sort of stuff and everything, so with snowboarding, probably someone who can create a lot of snow somewhere and build up this awesome course or jumps or anything.

BEN WATERWORTH: There's really any superheroes around snow, is there, that you kind of think about that? So we need to change that, perhaps, Belle. We can create one around you. I don't know, Super Belle, Belle Border, something like that. I don't know. Our listeners can draw up something and send it in, perhaps. Maybe that works. I don't know. What's your favourite ice cream flavour? Vanilla. People talk down about vanilla, but I'm with you there. Vanilla is like a nice, simple one. It's just something about a good vanilla ice cream that really just hits the spot. So I like it. Even true, yeah, absolutely. That is a very good choice. I like it. If you were a baseball player, what would your walk-up music be? I guess you could almost have this sort of on the start line. You could have some music there playing in your headphones or something like that to sort of really get you amped up for a race.

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Probably some Jimi Hendrix or Aka Daka.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yes, I like that. Good old Aka Daka and Hendrix. That works perfectly. I'm going to think about that next year when you're on the line there in Korea. What's the best nickname that you've ever been called?

BELLE BROCKHOFF: The Hoff.

BEN WATERWORTH: The Hoff. Ah, yes, that's awesome. I like that.

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Yes, Brockhoff. So they kind of just made that up, and that was that.

BEN WATERWORTH: Wow, that's perfect. That's perfect. If you weren't an athlete, what would you be?

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Probably a photographer, I guess.

BEN WATERWORTH: I think that's a good one. I see you're very strong on the Instagram. You've got a lot of followers out there. So I guess you could kind of have that on the side there. It's going well.

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Yeah, well, I do have a photography page on the side. I can't just start it up. So I'm just learning things here and there.

BEN WATERWORTH: Fantastic.

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Just to get a little bit better.

BEN WATERWORTH: There you go. All right. Your guilty pleasure snack, I guess, besides maybe vanilla bean ice cream.

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Dried mango.

BEN WATERWORTH: Dried mango. Wow. We actually, we had Andy Norty, a Canadian mogul skier on recently, and she said one of her biggest fears was mango. She was terrified of mangoes. How does that work? How can you be afraid of a mango?

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Maybe as a kid, you got something weird going on.

BEN WATERWORTH: There's a psych out to your Canadian athletes. Just, you know, showed them the mangoes. Maybe it's a Canadian thing. What is the most recent TV show that you binge watched?

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Family Guy.

BEN WATERWORTH: Family Guy. Classic, but a good one. Yes. Are you still sort of into the newer episodes, or are you maybe a fan of the classic episodes more so than the newer ones?

BELLE BROCKHOFF: They're really good. It's always good to have the older ones too, on fire when you're watching.

BEN WATERWORTH: Good combination. What's your favourite place in the world to compete?

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Probably... I don't know, they're all different, and I really like all of them. The Alps, along there. Austria is always good too.

BEN WATERWORTH: Okay, good answers, good answers. And your final one here, Belle, what is your biggest fear in life? Tough one to end it on there.

BELLE BROCKHOFF: I don't know.

BEN WATERWORTH: I think this is where Andy mentioned the mangoes. I think this is where she said the mangoes one.

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Biggest fear in life, mangoes, that's a really good one. I'm probably the same as most people, it's probably spiders.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yep, yep. Can't deal. Don't get too many spiders in the snow though, so that's kind of probably a good profession that you've got, I would say. That's true. That's very true. Well, it's been a pleasure having you here, Belle. Best of luck with everything. We're obviously going to keep our fingers and toes and everything crossed that the recovery goes well, and then leading into Korea next year, we're all going to be watching you very, very closely and hoping that you can bring home a medal for us here in Australia. So, best of luck and I really appreciate your time on the show here today.

BELLE BROCKHOFF: Thank you so much.

BEN WATERWORTH: A fantastic chat there with Belle, and I just want to send a special thanks out there to the Australian Winter Institute as well, particularly to Belinda Noonan, who helped organise these interviews. Very last minute, I will say as well. You'll see a couple of these in the coming days, and just fantastic that we've been able to get these, and we're hoping to get a few more of these, of course. In this period of time, I guess, when a lot of these athletes are just having a bit of time off, ahead of training and everything, when things get very busy, of course, leading into Pyeongchang 2018. You can hear all our other interviews and episodes from Off The Podium, of course, by subscribing to us on iTunes. We are on Stitcher as well. Like us on Facebook, and you can use the hashtag Off The Podium if you are listening to any of these podcasts, and you want to join the conversation with them on Twitter. And just a big shout out to all our guests along the way who have responded and joined in the conversation with us. We appreciate your time on the show, and we appreciate the fact that you are engaging with us and the listeners along the way as well. Thank you for listening to this Belle Brockhoff interview. We will have more for you very, very shortly on Off The Podium, and we'll speak to you then.