Sandbach's Olympic snowboard star, Mia Brookes, goes all out in Big Air final
By Deborah Bowyer 10th Feb 2026
Sandbach's Olympic hopeful, Mia Brookes, might have finished fourth in last night's women's Big Air final but she did it in style and now prepares for her next Olympic event.
The 19-year-old, who is from Sandbach and went to Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College, became Britain's youngest snowboarding world champion aged just 16 in 2023.
In yesterday's event (Monday) she attempted the elusive backside 1620, in the Olympic final - one that had only been completed once in history - and finished fourth after her ambitious final jump (see video).
"The trick involves the rider spinning four and a half full rotations in the air, turning away from the take-off before landing back on the snow," said Team GB.
But all is not lost for Mia who will now compete in the snowboard slopestyle - the event she made history in as the youngest world champion in history in 2023 as we revealed here - next Monday (16 February ) and 17 February.
Mia, who learnt to snowboard at Kidsgrove Ski Centre when she was small, has been honoured by Sandbach's Yarn and Yarn group with a postbox topper in the town centre in her name as we revealed here

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