Zoe Gillings-Brier ( née Gillings, born 14 June 1985) is a Manx and British snowboarder. [1] She won seven medals at the FIS World Cup including one gold. [2] Gillings competed at the 2006, 2010, 2014, and the 2018 Winter Olympics making her the only British snowboarder to compete in 4 Olympics.
Gillings was born in the Isle of Man and began snowboarding at the age of 10, after switching from skiing. [3] She competes in snowboard cross, and has won seven medals at the FIS Snowboard World Cup. [4] At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Gillings finished 15th in the first ever women's snowboard cross event. [5] In the 2007/08 season, her best results were 6th at the X Games in Colorado, US, 4th in the Korean (Sungwoo) FIS World Cup final, and 2nd in the Japan (Gugi-Gifu) FIS World Cup snowboardcross final. [6] She was awarded British Olympic Association Athlete of the Year (Snowsport) 2007/08. [7] In the 2008/09 season, she finished 3rd in the FIS World Cup meetings in Valmalenco, Italy and Bad Gastein, Austria, and won the German National Championships. [6] [8] She was awarded the British Olympic Association Athlete of the Year (Snow sport) for the second successive year.[ citation needed] At the 2010 Winter Olympics, Gillings finished 8th in the women's event. [9] In 2010/11, she finished 3rd in a World Cup meeting in Arosa, Switzerland, [6] and in 2011/12, she finished 3rd in the boarder-cross World Cup event in Valmalenco. [10] At the 2014 Winter Olympics, Gillings finished 9th in the women's event; she missed out on the final on a photo finish. [11] [12] After the Games, Gillings lost her Olympic funding. [12] Gillings-Brier has been selected for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, making her the first British snowboarder to compete at four Winter Olympics. [4]
Gillings was homeschooled. [3] Gillings married her coach Dan Brier in August 2014, after which she changed her surname to Gillings-Brier. [13] In August 2016, the couple had their first child. [9]