Lindsey Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner made history by winning gold in the first-ever mixed team snowboarding race at the Winter Olympics. They are the oldest Americans to win a Winter Olympics event since the Cold War.
“We’re from the 80s and we were on fire today,” Jacobellis mentioned.
In the final stretch of the race, Baumgartner gave Jacobellis a 0.04 second lead, which she briefly lost but ultimately regained by passing Michela Moioli of Italy on the final turn. Jacobellis maintained her position during the last jump, finishing with a 0.20 second lead over second place. Moioli, with her partner Omar Visintin, secured the silver, and Canadians Eliot Grondin and Meryeta O’Dine came in third.
Jacobellis also won a gold medal for Team USA earlier in the women’s snowboarding cross final. After waiting 16 years for her first-place victory, the 36-year-old now has two gold medals within four days. Both Jacobellis and Baumgartner, aged 40, are now the oldest snowboarders to claim a medal at the Winter Olympics in any event.
They also hold the distinction of being the oldest Americans to win a gold medal in the Winter Olympics since the four-man bobsleigh team led by Frank Tyler in 1948. Team USA has accumulated five gold medals since Wednesday.
