River Radamus (C) poses with his gold medal in men's super-G at the Lillehammer 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games on Feb. 13, 2016 in Hafjell, Norway.
LILLEHAMMER, Norway -- Although it was a day late, River Radamus received a birthday present he will remember for a lifetime. The 18-year-old outlasted a field of 55 skiers to win the gold medal in the men’s super-G at the Lillehammer 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games.
“The experience at Lillehammer has already been unreal,” said Radamus, who walked in the Opening Ceremony on his birthday Friday. “And to add a gold medal to that is pretty surreal and something I’ll certainly never forget. … It’s something every kid dreams about having happen to them someday, and I was really happy that it happened to me today.”
Radamus prefers running first and on Saturday he was able to wear the No. 1 bib. The Edwards, Colorado, native, carved down Hafjell Olympic Slope in 1 minute, 10.62 seconds, securing Team USA’s first medal at the 2016 Youth Games and becoming the first American ever to win a medal in alpine skiing at a Youth Olympic Games.
“I just wanted to execute my line and go as hard as I could,” Radamus said. “I had some mistakes, but executed in some really crucial spots. It was nerve-wracking sitting here watching a lot of great skiers coming down, but I was able to hold everyone off.”
With the pressure off, Radamus watched as the field tried to catch him, but no one was able to. Silver medalist Pietro Canzio of Italy came close though, finishing just three hundredths of a second behind Radamus. Manuel Traninger crossed third in 1:11.03.
On the women’s side, Keely Cashman earned a top-10 finish for Team USA. Cashman, who’s from Strawberry, California, completed the course in 1:14.52, good enough for 10th.
Both Cashman and Radamus return to the slopes on Sunday for the combined.
