GB Snowboarder Mia Brookes is World Champion

27th February 2023

Last modified on March 2nd, 2023

The 16-year-old has taken the snowboard slopestyle title in her first senior World Championships. And she’s made sporting history twice over in the process.

Mia Brookes is the youngest World Champion in the history of snowboarding.

She turned 16 just one month ago.

She’s also the youngest British freestyler – snowboarder or skier – to become a World Champion.

“I’m really, really happy – like I’ve never been so happy in my life,” Mia said.

“I feel like I’m going to go and cry!”

GB’s Mia Brookes, 2023 Snowboard Slopestyle World Champion. Image © FIS Freestyle

Mia was lying in second place going into her final run of the Championships in Bakuriani in Georgia.

She took gold with a brilliant run.

Mia celebrates with one of her coaches. Image © Mateusz Kielpinski/FIS

She became the first snowboarder to land a CAB 1440 double grab in a women’s competition.

“I actually can’t believe it,” Mia said.

“When I did it, I wasn’t sure I’d done it, but I thought about it and was like…yep, I’ve done a 14!”

Here’s her winning run:

“What Mia’s done out here today is just next level,” said GB Snowsport Head Coach, Pat Sharples.

“We all know Mia’s got the talent, but this is her first season on the World Cup circuit and her first World Championships so to land a run like that with all the pressure of a World Championships tells you everything you need to know about her.

“We’re all so stoked for Mia, her coaches Mikey & Ben, her parents and the whole team around her.”

World Champion Mia Brookes with her coaches. Image © GB Snowsport

It’s been clear to us for a while that Mia was going to be one of the stars in the GB Snowsports team.

We’ve been tracking her progress since she was just 11 when she was winning almost everything against older, more experienced snowboarders at the BRITS – the British Snowboard & Freeski Championships – alongside skier, Kirsty Muir.

Two of the Best

Mia Brookes aged 11 & Kirsty Muir (13) in April 2018. Image © PlanetSKI

In January just a few days after her 16th birthday, Mia won World Cup silver at the Laax Open in Switzerland.

As well as that podium coming in her debut World Cup season, it made her the youngest British snowsports athlete to make a World Cup podium.

Laax was only her third World Cup competition – in the other two she came 5th and 9th.

Mia’s talent also earned her her first invite to the prestigious annual freestyle competition, the X Games Aspen in January, where she finished 6th in snowboard slopestyle.

Last year, she was still very much a junior.

In March 2022 she became the Junior World Champion in big air and was second in slopestyle.

Last season she was the FIS Europa Cup overall champion (one level down from the World Cup) and took the World Rookie Tour title.

She’s certainly exploded into the big time in 2023.

There is more – much more – to come from Mia Brookes.

2023 World Champion in snowboard slopestyle Mia Brookes with New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski Synnott (silver) & Japan’s Miyabi Onitsuka (bronze). Image © Miha Matavz/FIS

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