Gold American Snowboard Crossers in Mixed Nations Competition

In the mixed race, the men first completed the course over bumps and jumps, followed by the women. Snowfall in Zhangjiakou made it even harder for snowboarders. Baumgartner, 40, was only the quickest of the men in the final, so Jacobellis (36) was able to start the second game with a small lead. The Olympic individual snowboardcross champion was quickly passed by Italian Michela Moioli, but the veteran fought back and gave ‘Team USA’ another gold medal.

“Never flatten old people,” said Baumgartner, the oldest U.S. winter Olympic champion since Francis Tyler’s 1948 bobsleigh. Tyler was 43 when he won gold in the four-man. “Every athlete who is challenged by the younger generation struggles. It gives a very good feeling that we show here that we are not ready yet, that we want to work hard to achieve it”, said the 40-year-old. “We embrace the text ‘oldies for goldies’. Despite the cold, I don’t need a jacket now, because the fire inside still burns within me.”

Behind Jacobellis and Moioli, the two other participants fell in the final. Canada finally crossed the finish line more than 23 seconds behind the American winner.

With the victory, the United States passed the Netherlands in the medal standings and is now third with five gold, five silver and one bronze. The Netherlands did not participate in the mixed country competition among snowboard crossers. Glenn de Blois is the only crosser snowboarder at the Games on behalf of TeamNL. The 26-year-old Westlander finished last in his round of 16 run on Thursday and was knocked out.