Aaron March

Aaron March (born 14 May 1986) is an Italian alpine snowboarder.[1][3] He represented his nation Italy in two editions of the Olympic Games (2010 and 2014), and eventually claimed a silver medal in parallel giant slalom at the 2013 Winter Universiade in the Trentino and top ten finishes at the FIS World Cup series since his sporting debut in 2001.[4]

Aaron March
Personal information
Nickname(s)The Painter[1]
NationalityItalian
Born (1986-05-14) 14 May 1986
Brixen, Italy
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight77 kg (170 lb)
Sport
SportSnowboarding
Event(s)Alpine
ClubCentro Sportivo Esercito[1][2]
Coached byErich Pramsohler[1][2]
Medal record
Men's snowboarding
Representing  Italy
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2023 BakurianiMixed parallel slalom
Winter Universiade
Silver medal – second place 2013 Trentino Giant slalom

Career

March nicknamed himself as The Painter because of his love and passion on art and creativity; thus he relates it to his respective sport, "When I ride, I ride with imagination. Life can be rational but in the snow I can create and enjoy a new world. I love the pop art of US artist Andy Warhol, its genius and recklessness. He was an innovative artist who has broken the mould, as we have done with winter sports."[1] Being a military soldier with the rank of a corporal, March also trains at Centro Sportivo Esercito under his personal coach and mentor Erich Pramsohler.[2][5]

March made his official debut as part of the Italian squad at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where he finished fifteenth in the men's giant slalom, losing out to Austria's Benjamin Karl in a first knockout round by 2.27 seconds.[6]

When his nation Italy hosted the 2013 Winter Universiade in the Trentino, March win a silver medal for his team in the same tournament, but he was defeated by Austria's Sebastian Kislinger in their final match.[4]

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, March qualified for two alpine snowboarding events (including the first ever men's parallel slalom) by finishing third from the FIS World Cup series in Bad Gastein, Austria.[7] As part of his preparations for the Olympics, March, together with his coach Erich Pramsohler and fellow snowboarders Roland Fischnaller and Austrian Siegfried Grabner, cycled a 3,100-kilometre stretch from Villnöß, Italy, and passed through eight countries on their sixteen-day voyage to Sochi, Russia.[5][8] In the men's giant slalom, March was disqualified from the tournament after missing a gate on his second seeding run.[9] Three days later, in the men's slalom, March redeemed himself with a fourth-place finish in the small final race, but could not beat his former rival Benjamin Karl for the bronze medal by a wide 16-second margin.[10][11]

References
  1. "Aaron March". Sochi 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-03-14. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  2. "CONI Profile – Aaron March" (in Italian). Italian National Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2014-03-14. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  3. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Aaron March". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2014-02-27. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  4. "Universiade: Trentino 2013, argento azzurro in snowboard" [Universiade: Italy wins silver in snowboarding at Trentino 2013] (in Italian). L'Adige. 19 December 2013. Archived from the original on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  5. "Riding to Sochi". International Ski Federation. 26 April 2013. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  6. "Men's Parallel Giant Slalom Medal Round". Vancouver 2010. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  7. Gennari, Alessandro (10 January 2014). "PSL: Aaron March sul podio a Bad Gastein, Kummer trionfa fra le donne" [PSL: Aaron March on the podium in Bad Gastein, Kummer triumphs among women] (in Italian). Neve Italia. Archived from the original on 2014-01-17. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  8. Calufetti, Pamela (4 May 2013). "Roland Fischnaller, snowboarder in bicicletta verso le olimpiadi di Sochi" [Roland Fischnaller, snowboarders bike to the Olympic Games in Sochi] (in Italian). Montagna.tv. Archived from the original on 2014-03-15. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  9. "Men's Parallel Giant Slalom Qualification". Sochi 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-03-12. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  10. "Vic Wild tames parallel slalom to seal gold". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 22 February 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-03-14. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  11. "Men's Parallel slalom Finals". Sochi 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-03-14. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
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