17-Year-Old Red Gerard Wins First U.S. Olympic Gold
Source: The Daily Beast
In his debut Olympics appearance Sunday, 17-year-old American snowboarder Red Gerard became the first U.S. athlete to claim a gold medal at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympicsand the youngest ever to take the top prize in Olympic snowboarding. Im just mind-blown. I cant believe everything worked out, Gerard said after his victory at Pheonix Snow Park. Standing on the top spot of the winners podium, he said, is awesome. The young snowboarder was in last place before his third and final run in mens snowboard slopestyle, pulling off an upset victory to beat Canadians Max Parrot and Mark McMorris. His win was largely credited to his creative use of the slopestyle course, as he dared to use features ignored by his competitors. Recounting his performance of tricks like a switch backside 12 and front double 10 out of the side hit, into a backside double cork to reporters, Gerard said, Spins. Theyre just spins. A whole bunch of spins. Gerard, from Colorado, became the youngest American male to claim a gold at the Winter Olympics since 1928.
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Agschmid
(28,749 posts)lark
(23,182 posts)I saw the qualifying runs and it was obvious he has something special, an extra dose of creativity and daring that the others didn't have.
lindysalsagal
(20,785 posts)event he ones that crashed. They're the sweetest guys you've ever seen.
LisaM
(27,848 posts)Athletes in some of the other sports could take a lesson from their sportsmanship. I have to admit I am not particularly enamored of watching snowboarding versus some of the other events, but I always get a kick out of their camaraderie.
lindysalsagal
(20,785 posts)Cirque du So-What
(26,025 posts)He attributes his win to a lucky break with the wind on his last run.
MustLoveBeagles
(11,673 posts)BumRushDaShow
(129,878 posts)backtoblue
(11,347 posts)mahatmakanejeeves
(57,712 posts)BumRushDaShow
(129,878 posts)if you pay enough for it.
JohnnyRingo
(18,673 posts)I was hoping for a little Ohio pride. Plus, other than nearby Alpine Valley and Punderson State Park, the North Coast seems an unlikely breeding ground for a snowboarding champion.
Brother Buzz
(36,490 posts)His older brothers constructed a snowboard 'grinding park' in the sloping back yard where he honed his early skills. I guess the mountains came later.
mama
(164 posts)Much as I love Brandywine/Boston Mills, I don't think it's quite challenging enough to train an Olympian