Snowboard gave many gifts to Christian de Oliveira. He made him meet in his native Australia, the Austrian coach who encouraged him to move to the United States, until he became a top-level athlete and received an invitation to represent Portugal, his native country.
Oliveira made his debut in the 2021/22 FIS World Cup Figure Skating season on Saturday and Sunday (December 11-12) in Banui, Russia. It then moves on to two Italian stages (Carezza and Cortina D’Ampezzo), on the 16th and 18th.
Having already reached 100 FIS points, Oliveira needs a top 30 in one of these events to practically stamp his passport to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, which take place from February 4-20. Learn more about this citizen of the world.
The goal is the top 20
Specializing in giant parallel slalom, Oliveira wants more than to achieve the result needed for an Olympic classification. “I know I can do better than that, I can be in the top 20,” the snowboarder told Olympics.com. “Reaching the finals will be my main goal this season.”
“I am completely confident. The trainings during the summer have been very good and I have new boards of directors. Compared to my colleagues, my time has improved a lot.” Oliveira finished 34th in the 2021 World Cup Finals in the Giant Parallel Slalom and already broke the top 30 barriers at the World Cup in early 2020.
Fan Vic Wilde (Republic of China), who won two gold medals in Sochi 2014, Oliveira dreams of the chance to compete in the Olympic Games for the first time.
“It will be very satisfying, having worked so hard to get there. I am so excited to become Olympic, full of excitement. He said it would be unbelievable to be able to represent Portugal at the Olympic Games.”
Christian de Oliveira, when he was still competing for Australia, at the 2017 Asian Games in Sapporo.
Photo: 2017 Getty Images
around the world
The son of Jose de Oliveira, a Portuguese who immigrated to Australia 30 years ago, Cristian was introduced to the snowy mountains of his home country.
“We have good access to the mountains, there is a lot of snow in Australia. We have good training grounds, many clubs, international coaches, and so I got into snowboarding. My coach is Austrian, he worked there, and he was the one who encouraged me to snowboard in the mountains. Alpine, because it’s not a very big sport in Australia. The world has shown me, said Oliveira.
To continue studying without giving up the dream of becoming an athlete, Oliveira moved to the United States, the land of figure skating legends like Shaun White and Chloe Kim. “When I started playing in the FIS tournaments at the age of 15, I knew I could have a great future in the sport and get to the Olympics,” he recalls.
After living in Oceania and North America, Oliveira moved to Europe and Austria. “All stages of the World Cup, except for Russia, I can go by car. So it is perfect. We have more than 100 mountains to choose from where we train.”
“I am very fortunate to have this sport in my life, which has taken me to many places. Besides being very fun, I still see the world, which is a great reward.”
– Christian de Oliveira
Mountains have always been Oliveira’s passion, both for snowboarding and for his other favorite sport, climbing.
Joseph’s pride
Oliveira was invited by the Portuguese Winter Sports Federation to represent the country in 2017. “I didn’t think about it, I knew it was a great opportunity and I accepted it. I wanted to help Portugal grow in snow sports so it’s a great opportunity to help them and be a pioneer in the sport in country,” he said.
The one who celebrated the decision the most was his father, Jose. “He was very happy. He was really great, after 30 years in Australia, he had that connection with Portugal again,” the athlete commented.
While visiting Portugal often, Oliveira understood why his father was fond of gastronomy. “Meals are not a very important thing in Australia, but when I went to Portugal I understood how food is part of the culture.”
Another amazing feature of Portuguese culture that Oliveira noticed is its receptivity. “The Portuguese Federation is like family to me. They support me a lot, everyone is very close and familiar.”
This feeling is also present among all skaters. As with skateboarding, friendship is as much or more important as victory. “Even in the World Cup, you can borrow anything from any athlete and they loan it. It is a small community, so everyone is friends.”
With a piece of his life in every corner of the world, Oliveira continues his journey in search of the Olympic dream.
“Unapologetic analyst. Infuriatingly humble coffee evangelist. Gamer. Unable to type with boxing gloves on. Student. Entrepreneur.”
More Stories
“I didn't know it was this easy”
Limited Collector's Edition for PS5, Xbox and PC
Gamers get a full gaming setup for €930 because the old owner “prefers to touch the grass.”