Murray Buchan (born 2 December 1991), nicknamed Muzza, is a freestyle skier who competes in the halfpipe. Buchan's Olympic debut was at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where he competed on 18 February 2014 in the halfpipe, finishing in 17th place in the qualification round.[2]

Murray Buchan
Personal information
NicknameMuzza[1]
Born (1991-12-02) 2 December 1991 (age 33)
Edinburgh, Scotland
Height1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)
Weight64 kg (141 lb; 10.1 st)
Websitewww.murraybuchan.com
Sport
CountryGreat Britain
SportFreestyle skiing
EventHalfpipe
ClubGB Freeski team
Coached byPat Sharples
Jamie Matthew

Personal life

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Buchan was born on 2 December 1991 in Edinburgh, Scotland.[2] His father was a member of the Glenshee Ski Centre mountain rescue team.[3]

Career

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Buchan began skiing at an Edinburgh dry skiing slope at age 8, encouraged by his parents; he wanted to follow his father and be part of a mountain rescue team.[3] Buchan began to improve, progressing to local competitions, sponsored by ski shops.[3] He began winning his age group at tournaments, and at the age of 14 performed at his first British Skiing Championships, at which he won four events in his age group.[3] In 2008, he won his first British Skiing Championships in the halfpipe discipline, which led to his competing at World Cup skiing events, though mainly in Europe due to finances.[3] He was forced out of the majority of the 2009 season after dislocating his elbow.[3] At the start of January 2014, Buchan finished 13th, his best-ever result in a World Cup, at Calgary.[4] In the winter, Buchan trains in Breckenridge, Colorado.[3][5]

Buchan's Olympic debut was at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, which was the first time the halfpipe had been included in a Winter Olympics.[3] Going into the games, Buchan was the British Olympic champion in the halfpipe.[6] He competed in the qualifiers on 18 February 2014[6] in the freestyle skiing event halfpipe, and finished 17th,[7] having targeted 18 or above in the run up to the games.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Murray Buchan". GB Free Ski. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Murray Buchan". Team GB. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "About Me". Murray Buchan. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Hate to love for Buchan on eve of Olympic debut". Team GB. 18 February 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Breckenridge". Murray Buchan. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  6. ^ a b Russell, Sophie (17 February 2014). "Sochi Olympics 2014: Day 11 Preview – Murray Buchan, James Machon and Elise Christie". International Business Times. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  7. ^ "Men's Ski Halfpipe Qualification". Sochi 2014. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
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