SHAW-raised Thomas White is on the slippery slope to success in the winter sport of boardercross.
The 24-year-old has enjoyed success in his first year with the Great Britain snowboard cross squad. He has been training full-time in Hintertux, Austria, since October.
And Thomas, the younger brother of Olympic Games gold medal winning hockey player Nicola, has hopes of emulating her by also being an Olympian.
Should that dream come true, Thomas and Nicola would become the first siblings to have competed at winter and summer games.
Thomas, a former pupil at Buckstones Primary, Farrowdale House and Rishworth School, has taken part in five competitions in the last two months in Austria, Czech Republic and Italy.
In his first-ever competition in February in the Czech Republic, Thomas finished six from a field of 32 competitors.
And last weekend he took part in the Czech National Championships came seventh as he competed against world level competitors.
Thomas, who gave up his job at Chill Factore, Manchester, as a snowboard instructor and park shaper to join the GB squad, said: “It’s been an awesome first year training with the best of GB out in Austria.
“Racing is very different from freestyle snowboarding so I had to learn a whole new way of riding to be able to race at this level. I am learning and improving with each competition and look to make a bigger impact next season on the racing circuit.
“I think I have what it takes to become world class and the coaches have been extremely pleased with my progress.
“I came out to Austria with basic equipment not sure of how it would go. With better equipment my timings would improve and I could compete with the best so my next challenge is to get enough funding to be able to come out again next year properly equipped to compete on the world stage.
“It’s been a lot of hard work, but I’ve loved every minute of it.”
Thomas, who represented Lancashire and the North West at hockey as a junior, is hoping to pick up enough ranking points to earn a place on the world level racing circuit for the 2018/19 season.
If any business would like to offer Thomas a helping hand with sponsorship, contact david@2811sportmedia.co.uk
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