Feb. 12 (UPI) — The United States won the gold medal in the mixed team snowboardcross event Saturday during the sport’s debut at the Winter Olympics.
Lindsey Jacobellis, 36, crossed the finish line of the race first among the women competitors during the event’s Big Final after her teammate Nick Baumgartner, 40, gave her a time advantage over other competitors.
The team win by Jacobellis marked her second gold medal of the 2022 Winter Olympics after she placed first in the women’s SBX event on Wednesday. She is the oldest woman from the U.S. to ever win an Olympic medal during the Winter Olympics. And now she has two of them.
“AGE AIN’T NOTHING BUT A NUMBA,” the Twitter account for Team USA posted after the event.
Baumgartner’s win also broke records as the oldest snowboarding medal winner in Olympic history.
Italy’s first team, comprised of Omar Visintin and Michela Moioli, took the silver medal while Eliot Grondin and Meryeta Odine of Canada’s first team took the bronze. Lorenzo Sommariva and Caterina Carpano of Italy’s second team placed fourth.
The SBX mixed team event began with quarterfinals in which 16 teams, each comprised of a male and female snowboarder, raced down the slopes in a series of four heats. Each country’s delegation is allowed to enter two teams into the contest.
The male snowboarders start the competition at the same time and the women’s race follows in a staggered manner depending on how their male teammate fared. The first woman to cross the finish line wins the competition for her team.
The Big Final determines who wins the first four placements in the event while the Small Final determines which teams place fifth through eighth.
Team USA’s first team had started the competition off strong with a win in the second heat of the quarterfinals, beating Switzerland and both of Australia’s teams — knocking the land down under out of the competition.
The second team from Team USA, comprised of Jake Vedder and Faye Gulini, were knocked out of the competition during the third heat of the quarterfinals by the Russian Olympic Committee and Canada’s first team.
After progressing to the semifinals, Team USA’s first team placed second in its semifinals heat behind Italy but beat out Germany and Switzerland – taking Jacobellis and Baumgartner to their event-winning Big Final.
Italy’s second team also finished at the top of the second heat of the semifinals, which gave the country two chances at a spot on the podium.
