22.3
PHOTO. MARK WIITANEN, FISCHI, JOSH BISHOP INTERVIEW. THEO ACWORTH
IF YOU DON’T KNOW ALREADY, ANNIKA MORGAN IS RAD. SHE’S BEEN QUIETLY GRINDING AWAY AND IN THE LAST FEW YEARS HAS REALLY STARTED COMING INTO HER OWN, BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE SNOWBOARDING. SHE ALSO ISN’T AFRAID TO CRANK SUITCASE METHODS AND KNUCKLE FRONTFLIPS IN A CONTEST RUN WHENEVER SHE GETS THE CHANCE, AND IT’S CLEAR THAT SHE’S GOT THE MORGAN WILDCARD GENES. THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN A TIME WHEN PEOPLE WOULD REFER TO ANNIKA AS ‘Ethan’s sister’. THE WAY SHE’S HEADING, PRETTY SOON WE’LL BE CALLING ETHAN ‘Annika’s brother’. Hey Annika, what’s up? Not much, I’m at home. Kinda sick. Oh damn, hopefully not COVID? No, I’ve been tested a bunch of times. I’ve just been sick since Saas Fee. I just got some antibiotics. Are you riding much at the moment? I’ll be riding this weekend, and then I have a press conference on Monday.
this whole situation and going to the Olympics. I’m quite chill about it, and I feel like I ride better when there’s zero pressure. It seems like your family plays a big role in your life. I guess they’re all pretty hyped for you?
A press conference? That sounds serious. It isn’t really. It’s for Snowboard Germany, and we do it every year. You take pictures, and people get awards. It’s when all the racers get their outfits and stuff.
What’s going on with the Olympics? I guess you’re going? Yeah, I qualified in Chur at the Big Air. How are you feeling about it? It still seems like a dream to me, and I’m just waiting for someone to pinch me. I remember watching Anna [Gasser] doing her tricks at the Olympics, and now I’m going, and people will be able to watch me, which is kind of unreal.
60 PROOFED_Annika.indd 60
So can anyone go with you? No, no one. I’m pretty bummed because I know it would have been awesome to have them there. They were really looking forward to watching me live. My parents have been to comps, but my full family has never been to a competition. I was looking forward to partying with them. Hopefully you can all tear it up when you get back. How does it feel to be competing against people like Anna and Jamie [Anderson]? I’ve been riding with them for quite a while now, so it seems kind of normal. Being able to ride with the girls is sick for me for sure. It’s always really fun. The Olympics is a huge event, but it won’t be that big of a change for me. It’s just like any other competition. It’s not like I’m gonna be freaking out at the drop-in.
So you get to hang out with the real athletes? Yeah, basically.
Do you feel any pressure from anyone? I don’t feel any pressure coming from anyone. I don’t feel like anyone is expecting much from me, so I guess that’s making me less nervous about
about that, but when I qualified, I wrote in the family group chat, and they were all so hyped. And I know that my parents are proud of me, and so is Ethan.
They’re so hyped. They all booked flights and accommodation in China, then a few months ago the Olympics announced that there wouldn’t be any spectators. So they’re bummed
Does riding with the other women push your own riding? Oh, for sure. Riding with Anna is crazy. Her way of snowboarding is so progressive. We don’t have any girls on the Snowboard Germany team, so when I ride with her, it really motivates me to be a better snowboarder. Not even in a competitive way. It just helps me. What sort of tricks are you working on at the moment? METHOD 21 -----------
16.11.2021 13:07
