Freestyle skiing has a total of five events at Sochi 2014: moguls, aerials, ski cross, half-pipe and slopestyle. Half-pipe and slopestyle are both new to the Olympics this year, added largely because of their popularity in annual tournaments like the X Games and Dew Tour.

Slopestyle consists of jumps, rails, and boxes for the athlete to show off his or her acrobatics, technicality and creativity. It is not time-restricted; the skiers hit the obstacles however they want during their run, picking up points from the judges based on line choice, fluidity, control, technique, style and creativity.

James Woods is seen as one of our podium hopefuls at the Winter Olympics, and is still confident after a disappointing X Games in which he finished 10th. Fellow skiers Katie Summerhayes and Rowan Cheshire have both secured World Cup podiums over the past 18 months.

Name: Murray Buchan
Age: 22
Event: Halfpipe
Born: Edinburgh
Murray won his first British Halfpipe Championship in 2008. The 2012/2013 season saw him qualify for Sochi with top 20 placing in World Cup events and at the World Championships. He is also currently the British Halfpipe Champion.
At 22, Sochi 2014 will mark Murray’s debut at the Olympic Winter Games.

Name: James Machon
Age: 23
Event: Halfpipe
Born: Sheffield, Yorkshire
James entered his first British Championships in 2006, and has been the only person to win the British Halfpipe Championship for four consecutive years, from 2009 to 2012. He was also the first British skier to compete in the Winter Dew Tour, in 2009.
Sochi 2014 will be James’ first Winter Olympics Games.

Name: James Woods
Age: 22
Event: Slopestyle
Born: Sheffield, Yorkshire
James started the 2012 season with a second place finish at the FIS World Cup in Cardrona, New Zealand. This was followed by his best season, in which he won bronze in the Winter X Games in Aspen. FIS also awarded him the FIS Crystal Globe for the best athlete in slopestyle at World Cup level.
During the 2013 season he won a silver medal at the Freestyle World Championships, becoming only the second Briton ever to medal at World Championship level.
Both slopestyle and James are making their debut at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. He is the only British male to enter this event.

Name: Rowan Cheshire
Age: 18
Event: Halfpipe
Born: Stoke-on-Trent
Rowan recently became the first British woman to win skiing halfpipe gold at World Cup level, posting the best score in Calgary, Canada, on 3 January 2013.
Previous career highlights include coming third in the Junior World Championships in Italy 2013, and 3rd in the North Face Open in New Zealand 2013.
The Sochi 2014 Games will be Rowan’s Winter Olympics debut.

Name: Katie Summerhayes
Age: 18
Event: Slopestyle
Born: Sheffield, Yorkshire

Katie started the 2012/2013 season recovering from a career-threatening knee injury. In her first event after injury, she broke the 19 year World Cup medal drought by winning silver in Switzerland.
She finished the season just missing out on a podium position by finishing fourth at both the World Championships and the Euro Winter X Games.
This will be Katie’s Winter Olympic debut at the Sochi 2014 Games, and she will be the only British female to be competing in the slopestyle event.

Name: Emma Lonsdale
Age: 29
Event: Halfpipe
Born: Langcliffe, Settle, North Yorkshire
Emma competed in Alpine skiing for 16 years before switching to freestyle skiing. She has been British champion nine times and European runner up twice.
At the age of 29, Emma will be making her Winter Olympic debut at the Sochi 2014 Games.