Lindsey Jacobellis (front) competes in women's snowboardcross at the FIS Snowboard World Cup on Dec. 13, 2017 in Val Thorens, France.
Lindsey Jacobellis hasn’t officially punched her ticket to PyeongChang. But she’s probably safe to start packing.
The three-time Olympian and 2006 silver medalist in snowboardcross won her 29th world cup, extending her own record, on Wednesday in Val Thorens, France. Qualification for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games could come as soon as Saturday at the conclusion of the next world cup in Montafon, Austria.
U.S. teammate and two-time Olympian Faye Gulini finished fourth in Val Thorens. Jacobellis leads the world cup standings with 2,800 points, while Gulini is third with 1,310 points.
The win is Jacobellis’ second podium out of the first two U.S. Olympic qualifying events. And she continued to add to her impressive list of accomplishments. In addition to her record amount of world cup wins — nine more than second place Pierre Vaultier of France, the 2014 men’s Olympic champion — she is a five-time world champion and 10-time X Games champ.
She is also one of the most seasoned members of the U.S. snowboarding team, having burst onto the world stage at the age of 15 by competing in the X Games. All that is missing from her resume is an Olympic gold medal, which just barely eluded her in 2006.
Showing no signs of slowing down at the age of 32, Jacobellis will again be a medal threat in PyeongChang.
Todd Kortemeier is a sportswriter, editor and children’s book author from Minneapolis. He is a contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
