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 With legions of young followers around the world, the
gravity-defying event took the Olympic world by storm, leaving the
International Olympic Committee wanting more such changes.
"It is just extraordinary," said IOC sports director Christophe Dubi
on Monday.
"If you take a step back and you are sitting where you are, or where
we are at the IOC, I think one thing we share in common is the
desire for ultimate emotions."
"We thought it was the ultimate experience. It is really a grand
entrance for slopestyle," he said, sitting next to gold medalist
Kotsenburg.
Dubi, who will soon take over as the IOC's Olympic Games Executive
Director, said the event showed the need to reshuffle the sports
program quicker.
"For the IOC, what is at play is to review the program on a regular
basis to make sure it remains relevant," he said. "Of course, we
need to preserve our history. At the same time we have to remain
relevant and make sure that we capture new audience as well."
The IOC is to review how many and how quickly sports can be added to
the Games with a December 2014 session to decide on a string of
changes, including scrapping a seven-year waiting period for new
sports to join the Olympics.
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Golf and rugby are the most recent sports additions to the Games
with the two sports taking part in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro summer
Olympics.
Events of an existing Olympic sport can be added up to two years in
advance. A dozen new events were included in the Sochi Games
program.
"There is a desire for more flexibility," said Dubi. "There is
consensus that things will evolve and evolve for the better."
Kotsenburg said the slopestyle event had instantly breathed fresh
air into the Games.
"I think the world needed to see slopestyle," the American told
reporters. "Because snowboarding is a different sport than figure
skating or gymnastics.
"We come from a crazy background," said Kotsenburg, who believes a
Big Air event could also be included in the Olympic snowboarding
competition.
"We're all really different and individual people, and this is what
the kids are doing nowadays. So we're all definitely stoked to be in
the Olympics."
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
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