Beijing 2022 marks Lindsey Jacobellis’s fifth Winter Olympics, and on Feb. 9, she clinched snowboard cross Olympic gold for the very first time. It was also Team USA’s first gold at these Beijing Games, and NBC Sports’s On Her Turf reports that, at 36, she’s now the oldest American woman to win a medal at the Winter Olympics.
Jacobellis came into the Beijing Games as the most decorated athlete in her sport. She was en route to claim gold at her debut Olympic final in Torino 2006, only to finish second after attempting a celebratory grab and falling off course. Other Olympics ensued, though she did not medal: she landed fifth in Vancouver 2010, seventh in Sochi 2014, and near-podium fourth in Pyeongchang 2018.
“That was not in my mind,” Jacobellis said following her victory, according to ESPN. “I wanted to just come here and compete. [Winning] would have been a nice, sweet thing, but I think if I had tried to spend time on the thought of redemption, then it’s taking away focus on the task at hand, and that’s not why I race.” She added, “This feels incredible because this level that all the women are riding at is a lot higher than it was 16 years ago.”
GORGEOUS, GORGEOUS GOLD!@LindsJacobellis x #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/eqxHURS9OY
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) February 9, 2022
France’s Chloé Trespeuch finished after Jacobellis to claim silver, and Meryeta O’Dine, from Canada, took home bronze. Ahead, check out some memorable photos from Jacobellis’s gold-medal moment.