Snowboarder writes number on helmet, gets 2000 texts

A Russian snowboarder has received 2000 text messages and explicit pictures from fans after he wrote his phone number on the helmet he wore during his Olympic slopestyle qualifying round.

Alexey Sobolev was inundated with text messages within hours of racing at Sochi's Winter Games last Thursday, USA Today reports.

The 22-year-old said most of the messages came from his female fans and many included pictures.

Sobolev said it was his way of relieving the monotony of hanging around, waiting to compete.

"It's really boring in the Olympic Village, you know?" he said. The snowboarder was told to cover up his number with black tape ahead of the semifinal round on Saturday.

He failed to qualify for the finals and joked that he now has more time to respond to the messages.

"I'm definitely going to call them," Sobolev said.

Source: USA Today
Author: Emily Crane, Approving editor: Simon Black