Sebastien "Seppe" Smits (born 13 July 1991) is a Belgian professional
snowboarder
Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...
and World Championship medalist.
Smits was born in
Westmalle
Westmalle is a village in the Belgian province of Antwerp which is part of the municipality of Malle.
History
See history of Malle.
Tourism
Westmalle is primarily known for the Trappist Abbey of Westmalle of the Order of Cistercians of the Stri ...
and started snowboarding at a serious level in the winter of 2006–2007, competing in the Europa Cup. He obtained his first World Cup medal when finishing third in the Big Air competition in
Stockholm on 22 November 2008, winning the silver medal at the World Championships a few months later in
Gangwon
Gangwon or Kangwŏn may refer to:
* Gangwon Province (historical), the Goryeo, Joseon Dynasty and the Japanese Korean province
* Gangwon Province (South Korea), a province of South Korea, with its capital at Chuncheon. Before the division of Kore ...
. Further medals in the World Cup, both in Big Air and Slopestyle, followed over the next years.
In 2009, Seppe Smits won the rookie Big Air competition at the
Air & Style festival in
Innsbruck.
Smits finished second in the 6-star TTR event in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
on 4 December 2010.
On 8 January 2011, Smits took over the lead in the
Swatch TTR World Tour for 2011, after finishing fourth in
Davos. One week later, at the
2011 world championships in Barcelona, Smits won a gold medal in the slopestyle competition and finished third in the Big Air after losing the tie-breaker for silver from
Zach Stone
Zachary "Zach" McKenzie Stone (born 6 September 1991 in Collingwood, Ontario) is a Canadian professional snowboarder and World Championship medalist. Stone won a silver medal at the 2011 FIS World Championships.
Biography
Snowboard Wor ...
. Smits ended third in the final results of the 2010–2011 Swatch TTR World Tour, after three-times winner
Peetu Piiroinen
Peetu Piiroinen (born 15 February 1988) is a Finnish snowboarder. He is a three-time Olympian representing Finland in snowboarding at the 2010 Winter Olympics, 2014 Winter Olympics and 2018 Winter Olympics. Peetu made the finals in all 3 Olympics ...
and
Yuri Podladchikov.
He won the 2011–2012 TTR World Tour Big Air title and finished third at the
2012 World Championships in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
in the
slopestyle
Slopestyle is a winter sport in which athletes ski or snowboard down a course including a variety of obstacles including rails, jumps and other terrain park features. Points are scored for amplitude, originality and quality of tricks. The disc ...
event.
He rides
goofy
Goofy is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fedora. Goofy is a ...
.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smits, Seppe
1991 births
Living people
Belgian male snowboarders
Olympic snowboarders of Belgium
People from Malle
Snowboarders at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Snowboarders at the 2018 Winter Olympics
X Games athletes
Sportspeople from Antwerp Province