Winter Olympics: Wells unfazed by course layout

Jossi Wells of New Zealand. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand's best Winter Olympics medal chance reckons the talk about course difficulties has been overblown.

Jossi Wells steps on to the slopestyle layout, with brother Beau-James for company, tonight, carrying the hopes of the nation with him.

The former world No1 is relishing the Olympic environment and as an athlete who spends his life circling the world's premier winter sports locations he said issues over courses is nothing new.

"I don't think anyone's spoken out that every other event we go to, the course is never perfect on the first day," Wells said.

"The riders [have a] hit out, talk to the builders and iron out the kinks. People blew it out of proportion.

"You look at the slopestyle [snowboard finals] and they're the best runs put down in slope history and that shows the course is amazing and getting better every day. I can't wait."

Wells has had heel problems. He admitted the conditions had been icy at the start of practice and they had "flared up a bit, and my knees were getting a bit sore".

But he is used to battling through pain. His coach and father Bruce Wells says it's no longer a talking point between them.

"Jossi's a pretty staunch character," he said.

"Since he was 15 he's had considerable patella tendon pain so he's used to coping with chronic pain.

"It's like tennis elbow in the knees, then he's throwing himself 20-30 feet in the air and landing. I don't know how he does it.

"His heels are not 100 per cent at all, but we don't talk about it.

"He's got it in his head that 'I've got a job to do, everything's blocked out, just get on with it'."

Wells goes into the event at No16 in the world; his 18-year-old brother at No24, but rankings are not especially relevant. These freeski events are more about "on the day".

By Bruce Wells' estimation any of the 12 who make the final could finish on the podium. It's all down to impressing the judges, ticking the boxes on what they want to see.

Still, Jossi Wells sits among those at the shorter priced end of the scale of expectation.