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Now to the future!
BANCHORY snowboarder Ben Kilner believes his impressive showing in the Winter Olympics will stand him in good stead for the future.
The 21-year-old reached the semi-finals of the men's snowboard half-pipe event at Cypress Mountain, Vancouver thanks to a magnificent second run in the qualifying heats.
Ben finished seventh in the first qualifying heat with a fantastic score of 32.1 for his second run.
However Ben, Great Britain's sole representative in the halfpipe event, missed out on a place in the final after falling in both semi-final runs and finished 18th – thus achieving his aim of a top-20 finish.
Afterwards Ben said the experience will help him in his pursuit to win a medal at the next Winter Olympics which take place in Russia in 2014.
He said: "I'm pretty disappointed right now, but I came here to qualify for the semi-finals so I'm really happy with that.
"I was having a good second run but unfortunately I fell on the second last trick where I landed slightly flat on the front side nine and that caused me to fall over. I just didn't quite have the strength to hold on.
"I now need to go out there and learn the new tricks that the top guys are doing. For Sochi 2014 I'll hopefully be able to catch up with them. The great thing about the halfpipe is that it never stops evolving; new tricks are being invented all the time.
"I think I've got another two or three Olympics in me, so it's only just the beginning for me really, but it was good to come here and get the experience. Now I'm going to concentrate on my training and learning the new tricks to improve.
"The whole Olympic experience has been amazing. It's been a great atmosphere and it was really nice to have so many of my friends and family supporting me."
Ben's mother Jennifer said she was "so proud" of her son for reaching the semi-finals.
She said: "The atmosphere was electric. When the riders were doing their run it was silent until we knew if they were going to land it. We just wanted Ben to land his run and get into the top 20 as he had so desperately wanted. When we saw he was in line to get into the semi finals we hardly dared to breathe until the final rider had gone and then we went mad!"
Jennifer said the camaraderie amongst Team GB was brilliant for Ben, especially when helping him get ready to meet members of the Royal Family who were in Vancouver to watch the Olympics.
"We got to spend some time with Ben after his big day which was nice," she said. "He has had the time of his life and made so many more friends within Team GB. The lady curlers in particular took him under their wing and Jackie Lockhart even lengthened his suit trousers when they voted they were a little short for him to have dinner with Princess Anne in!"
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Weather for Banchory
Monday 21 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 3 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 7 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: East
