Lindsey Jacobellis, Nick Baumgartner Win Historic Gold In Olympic Debut Of Snowboard Cross Team Event

Lindsey Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner celebrate during the snowboard cross mixed team finals flower ceremony at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Feb. 12, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China.

ZHANGJIAKOU, China – Lindsey Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner made history Saturday by winning gold in the Olympic debut of mixed team snowboard cross at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

The pair earned a spot into the big final after climbing through the elimination bracket of 15 teams on a snowy day in the mountains at Genting Snow Park.

All stages of the event started with the men up top followed by the women, who carried over any time advantage gained from when their partners crossed the finish line. The women then start their runs staggered and whoever crossed first wins.

Baumgartner, who is the oldest U.S. Olympian competing in Beijing at 40 years old, took first in the men’s heat during the big final, gaining Jacobellis a slight 0.04 advantage heading into the last run. The four-time Olympian sailed into first place after passing his competitors off one of the jump features.

“In a sport like snowboard cross that’s unpredictable, it takes the experience to be able to predict even the littlest things because we’ve seen so much, we’ve been through so many heats,” said Baumgartner, regarding the race. “That’s what allows us to stay competitive so long. There’s no other snowboard event that you could be competitive at 40 years old. And now [we’re] not only competitive, but we’re the ones to beat today.”

Jacobellis, 36, used her experience during the women’s run to come back after falling slightly behind to win the final heat by 0.20. Italy’s Omar Visintin and Michela Moioli followed by 0.24 to take silver while Canada’s Eliot Grondin and Meryeta Odine claimed bronze 23.43 behind Baumgartner-Jacobellis after taking a fall earlier in the run.