Spain's Castellet aspires to Olympic gold in snowboarding

BEIJING, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Spanish snowboarder Queralt Castellet, competing in the halfpipe event, hopes to fulfill her dream of winning gold at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

The five-time Olympian was Spain's flag bearer at the opening ceremony for the second time.

"I still have many dreams, including getting an Olympic gold medal," the 32-year-old, runner-up at the 2015 World Championships, told Xinhua.

"The Games is my main goal. I have been working on what is needed for classification in the pipe and then worked to concentrate on key elements to be at my best for the Games," she explained.

Her preparations include designing her own snowboards that she competes with.

"Ever since I was little, I have loved everything that involves painting, drawing, and I think that in snowboarding, I find something that in a sense is quite similar: creating something from scratch and shaping it," she said.

Castellet has had a great season so far, placing on the podium in all of her events in the run-up to Beijing, and that has boosted her confidence.

"The more comfortable I feel on the board and the more I understand about snowboarding and the mountains, the more it is reflected in my results," she commented.

Despite facing a hard task of recovering from jet lag after traveling from the United States, Castellet said she was surprised by the respect and kindness of everyone working at the Olympic Village.