Mike Jankowski praises "different" family man David Wise

United States freeski and snowboard head coach Mike Jankowski has praised gold medallist David Wise for bringing something different to half-pipe skiing.

Wise won his event on Tuesday, with a first-run score of 92.00 enough to see off the rest of the competition.

The married 23-year-old has a daughter, and insists that family life is more important than being good on a pair of skis.

Seen as a sensible man of the sport, Wise has a different image to the majority of his competitors, something which Jankowski believes is a positive thing.

The coach told ESPN: "It's great for our sports to have a representative like David out there. It shows you don't have to be cookie-cutter or have this rebel image to be the best in the world.

"It takes nothing away from how great it is to also have a representative like Sage Kotsenburg, who has 50-year-old people out there saying, 'Spoice.' But when Dave gets out there, people will see a different side to our sports. They'll see there isn't just one way to the top."

Wise himself believes that he is 'counter-culture' to free skiing, although he has won the X Games in Ski SuperPipe three years in a row.