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Olympic Snowboarding Coach Unloads On Sochi's Terrible Halfpipe With Expletive-Laden Quote

Olympic Snowboarding Coach Unloads On Sochi's Terrible Halfpipe With Expletive-Laden Quote

halfpipe sochi workers

Al Bello/Getty Images

Australian snowboarding coach Ben Bright has stated his displeasure with Sochi's substandard halfpipe in the most vulgar possible terms.

Here's what he told the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday. Doesn't get much more brutal than this:

"I've come to the point of being diplomatic, but it's actually very s***. It's come down to the final hour, the final minute. The men's contest is going live to the world and the Federation of International Skiing has let ego get in the way of a good contest. They barely got it [right] in Vancouver [at the Olympics in 2010] and they haven't got it here. So f***. Surprise surprise.

(...)

"It is dangerous at the moment. You've got a mixed event going on - moguls and halfpipe together - so it's f***ing retarded."

We've seen snowboarders call the halfpipe "dangerous," "crappy," and "garbage," but this is easily the harshest, most vulgar criticism yet.

ben bright

Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Ben Bright.

Bright is the coach and brother of one of the best female snowboarders in the world, Torah Bright.

The men's halfpipe event got off to a rocky start on Tuesday. There were initial reports that the qualification round would be eliminated and all riders would advance to the semifinals to reduce the wear on the course.

But those reports turned out to be false, and after some frantic course work from the Sochi staff, the qualification round has gone off on schedule.

The halfpipe still isn't in good shape, by all accounts. Eleven of the first 20 riders in qualifying fell.

The organizers been spraying the halfpipe with water to try to create some ice, but balmy temperatures are making it tough. Riders have been complaining about slow, snowy spots in the middle of the pipe:

sochi hose

Al Bello/Getty Images

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