Swiss · Podolsk, Russia · Born 13 September 1988Russian-born Swiss snowboarder nicknamed 'I-Pod', who stunned Shaun White to win the 2014 Olympic halfpipe gold with his self-invented 'YOLO flip'.
Iouri Iourevich Podladtchikov was born on 13 September 1988 in Podolsk, near Moscow, and moved with his family to Davos, Switzerland, at age four, where he began snowboarding in 2000. He initially competed for Russia at the 2006 Turin Olympics as a 17-year-old, finishing 37th, before switching allegiance to Switzerland, where he had grown up and trained. Podladtchikov placed fourth in the halfpipe at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, narrowly missing the podium as Shaun White won his second gold. In 2012 he invented a cab double cork 1440 - two backflips combined with four full rotations, ridden switch - which he named the 'YOLO flip' after admitting he created it to impress a girl. He first landed it in competition at the 2013 World Championships in Stoneham, Canada, winning gold and becoming the first rider to beat White in a major final in years. At the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Podladtchikov delivered the performance of his career, again landing the YOLO flip in his second run to score 94.75 and dethrone two-time defending champion Shaun White, who finished fourth. Injuries repeatedly disrupted the rest of his career - a traumatic brain injury at the 2018 X Games cost him his Pyeongchang title defense, and further setbacks followed at the 2019 World Championships. He retired in 2020, but announced a comeback in January 2025 aiming for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics. Beyond snowboarding, Podladtchikov has pursued serious academic and artistic interests, earning a history degree, studying photography in New York, and exhibiting his photographic work internationally.
Inventing the 'YOLO flip' and using it to beat Shaun White for Olympic halfpipe gold at the 2014 Sochi Games
How They Played
Technically daring halfpipe rider known for inventing complex switch-stance rotations and performing his signature trick under maximum pressure
Lasting Impact
Remembered as one of the sport's great innovators, whose signature trick and one shining Olympic moment ended an era of Shaun White's Olympic dominance
Career Honours
- 2014 Olympic Gold Medalist, Halfpipe
- 2013 World Champion, Halfpipe
- Inventor of the 'YOLO flip' (Cab double cork 1440)
- 4th place, 2010 Vancouver Olympics
Swiss Athletes