Andy finch biography

Andy Finch receives his due recognition more than a decade into retirement as the snowboarding world reflects on his hard work and hard-charging style

On February 12, 2006, Andy Finch stood atop the halfpipe in Bardonecchia, Italy, a snowy village about 90 miles west of Turin, Italy, home of the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Finch, competing against 43 of the best snowboarders from around the globe in the men’s halfpipe, took a few deep breaths, girded himself in front of the crowd of 30,000 and slid down onto the lip, over the edge and briefly vanished, only to reemerge on the other side.

He soared.

And then, he came crashing back to earth.

For a few short moments, Finch, the Truckee-based kid originally from Fresno, became the embodiment of the Olympic motto: “Citius, Altius, Fortius” (“Faster, Higher, Stronger”).

Nobody on earth could go higher, tweak their airs with more style and, as fate would have it that day, hit the deck harder.